Smile For The Cameras
by Smiley01
Summary: The cameras capture the smiles meant for them, but when they're off the truth about relationships becomes clear. Stephanie Orr knows all about smiling at the right times but when her husbands enemies target her and her young son, the smiles fade as she does everything she can to protect her child. AU/AR Babe story! No beta so please excuse my mistakes! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Characters aren't mine and I'm making no money. The plot belongs to me though and your reviews are all the payment I get.

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**Chapter 1**

_"I, Richard Brendan Orr, do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey. I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform the duties of the Governor of the State of New Jersey according to the best of my ability, so help me God." _

Cheers erupted as my husband removed his hand from the old, well-worn Bible and shook the hand of the Reverend swearing him into office. Smiling his politician's smile, he turned to face the cheering crowd and raised his arms triumphantly. The cameras clicked furiously as they got the perfect shot of my husband, Dickie, the youngest governor in the state of New Jersey on his inauguration day. It was a day for the history books.

I stood behind him, smiling a big, fake smile, in my tailored Anne Klein suit holding the small hand of our three-year old son. I honestly couldn't believe I was standing there listening to my husband speak to the people who put their trust in him to lead our state. Dickie is the last person I'd trust to run a bake sale, let alone an entire state. I guess his campaign manager was able to lie really well about his past indiscretions. Of course the untimely death of his opponent didn't hinder his campaign either.

His speech was full of promises and political jargon that would never be adhered to. He vowed to continue his campaign to clean up the streets and to put an end to the mob families that had taken over much of the state. I knew it was all a bunch of lies, but still I smiled and supported my husband. After he finished lying to the crowds, Dickie turned to me and held out his hand. I did the dutiful wife bit and placed my hand in his. Dickie then bent down and scooped up Tommy into his arms before drawing me tightly into his side. I smiled big and waved to the crowd who cheered and screamed. I made a vow to support my husband, so that is what I did. I stood beside him through thick and thin. I was a good wife.

You might be wondering who I am. Stephanie Plum-Orr, at your service. At that point in time, I was a twenty-seven year old Libra whose life revolved around the two males standing beside me. I loved one and barely tolerated the other. My son was...is, my entire life. If I ever wondered why I put up with Dickie for so many god-aweful years, all I had to do was look at my son's adorable face and I knew the reason. If I'd left Dickie after finding him screwing the town whore, then I wouldn't have had Tommy. He made all the pain worth it.

A little back story to help you better understand me. I met Dickie my sophomore year of college. He'd just graduated law school and already had a position in a prestigious law firm in Newark so when he first asked me out, I was flabbergasted. I wasn't anything special, but this cute, successful man wanted me, so of course I said yes. We'd only dated six months when he asked me to marry him. My mother was so excited that she said yes for me. Since he proposed at my parent's house at a family dinner, I couldn't really say no. Dickie and I were married six months after his proposal when I was just twenty years old. Young and dumb are the first things that come to my mind, followed by naive. I thought we were in love, but it turns out that I was wrong.

A month after we said 'I do', I found Dickie and my arch-nemesis Joyce Barnhardt enjoying my brand new dinning room table. The only thing was, they weren't eating. She was riding him like a bull and he was enjoying every minute of it. I let them finish and then threw Joyce out the front door by her two dollar extensions before turning my anger to Dickie. You might wonder how our marriage survived that betrayal, but again I'm going to say that I was young and stupid.

I started divorce proceedings and moved out of the house and was shocked one day when Dickie's boss showed up at my parent's house where I was staying. He informed me that Dickie had been hand picked for some political positions and since a divorce wouldn't look good to his constituents, he 'convinced' me to drop the divorce and stand by my husband. By 'convinced' I mean blackmailed. He told me that if I went ahead and divorced Dickie, I would inherit Dickie's student loans and his firm would make sure I never got out from under that debt. They also threatened my parent's livelihood. Dickie's boss informed me that he would make sure my dad lost his government retirement and that he'd never find another job. I couldn't let that happen to my parents so I sucked up my pride and stayed married.

Dickie moved up the ladder of his firm quickly and soon became the youngest district attorney in the state's history. Right after being elected, he declared war on the organized crime in the state and put away some big time mob bosses. His success at cleaning up the state lead him to become the Republican parties candidate for Governor. The election was close and at one point, it looked like the other guy was going to win but he died of a massive heart attack a month before the vote. The people in the state were so confused that Dickie won the election by a landslide. The new opponent never stood a chance.

I would love to say that Dickie and I were happy together, but that'd be a lie. I smiled when we were out in public together and acted like the dutiful wife, but in private he had his life and I had mine. He constantly entertained women and we slept in separate rooms on separate sides of the large house. I had a trusted friend that I would call when I needed a night of release. He was discreet and didn't try to constantly try to convince me to leave Dickie. He understood why I had to stay with him and I loved him, in my own way, for that understanding.

So, for the past seven years, I've been unhappily married. The only good thing to come out of the marriage was Tommy and he was a complete accident. I was religious with taking my birth control and yet, here he is so to say I was freaked when I found out about him is an understatement. I honestly didn't know who the father was at first. I secretly hoped it was my friends, but the ultrasound confirmed that Tommy was conceived while said friend was out of the country. I was lonely, drunk and weak one night and Dickie talked me out of my pants. I even made him wear a damn condemn and still ended up pregnant. I guess that means that Tommy was meant to be here and I wouldn't trade him for anything.

So now that you know the whole sordid tale of my twisted marriage, we can get back to today's inauguration. After we'd waved and smiled for the appropriate amount of time, Dickie turned and led me back into the capitol building and directly to his office. His chief of staff mentioned that we had to do a press conference before we could head home, so I went to the bathroom to freshen up before stepping in front of the cameras once again. My personal aide and good friend, Lula, followed me holding Tommy. He missed his nap today and was getting a little upset about being manhandled so much. When the bathroom door closed, Lula sat Tommy down on the plush couch and turned to me.

"Girl, you look a mess. That wind did a number on your hair. Let me fix you up before you step in front of those news cameras. I don't want you lookin' a fool on television." I chuckled and let Lula fuss with my wild curls.

I first met Lula five years ago on Stark street. I was out looking for a shop and got lost in the wrong part of town. She took pity on the white woman in the hood and made sure I made it to my destination safely. Her pimp didn't appreciate her hospitality and beat her pretty severally. When I found her in the hospital, she was close to death and it was my fault. After she recovered, I got her a legit job with my slimy cousin and helped her get off the streets. Her and I stayed friends and she became my go to shopping buddy. I loved Lula just like a sister so when Dickie told me to pick someone to be my number two after getting the party's nomination for Governor, I called Lula and offered her the job. She jumped at the opportunity to wear fancy shit, as she says. She's been great and I couldn't ask for a better friend.

"Thanks Lula. I really don't care how I look on TV so I'm glad you are looking out for my image." Lula huffed and messed with my hair some more.

"Someone needs too. You'd go on TV looking like Medusa if I let you and who dressed you today? I thought you wanted to wear the black dress. The suit you got on have you lookin' like Jackie O." Lula narrowed her eyes at me and made me giggle again. Lula was a five-foot, five inch two-hundred and twenty pound black woman who has a penchant to wear spandex. Since she began working for me, she'd tamed her look and started covering up her, ahem, assets.

"Dickie nixed the black dress and told me I needed to look more professional. He said we have an image to uphold now and I need to start acting like a Governor's wife. He thinks I need more class." I shrugged as Lula huffed again and rolled her eyes in true Jersey Girl fashion.

"That man wouldn't know class if it fell out of the sky and hit him on the head. If HE had class, he wouldn't be parading those skanks in and out yo house. Everyone knows he steppin' out, why you stick with him?" I couldn't tell Lula the truth. The only person that knew everything was my special friend, and he swore to keep it quiet.

"I guess it's because I love him, Lula. You know how it is." Lula glared at me, not convinced. I looked through the mirror at Tommy who was sitting quietly on the couch sucking his thumb. "I've got to think of Tommy and he needs his daddy."

Lula rolled her eyes again and finished fixing my rat's nest that I call hair. "You're as good as I can get you, girl. Fix your make-up and let's get you in front of those cameras. I'll take care of T man for you." I smiled at her as she sat beside Tommy. She was really good with him and Tommy loved his aunt Lu.

A sharp knock on the bathroom interrupted my primping and Dickie's voice made me roll my eyes. "You're needed in the press room Stephanie. You look as good as you're going to so get your ass out here and get ready to smile." Lula growled and stood up off the couch to open the door.

I put my hand on her arm before she said anything to my husband. "I'm ready Dickie. Thank you for waiting for me." Dickie scoffed, took me by the upper arm and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"You remember what you're supposed to say, right? Don't you embarrass me." I jerked my arm out of his hand and straightened out my suit.

"I never embarrass you. In fact, I make you look good." Dickie scoffed and grabbed my arm again before running his hand down my arm to my hand and grasped it tightly. This time I didn't jerk away and followed him toward the press room. I heard Tommy start to cry and wanted to turn around, but Dickie jerked me forward and leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"Leave the brat alone. Your main focus is the cameras. Do your job and smile. You're the new first lady of New Jersey." My breath caught hearing him say that. I guess I never really thought about the repercussions of him being Governor. Did I really want to be the first lady?

The press conference lasted for forty-five minutes and I was the dutiful wife and gushed over my husband. The few questioned I was asked, I answered with the scripted statements written out by Dickie's staff. When I asked why I couldn't just answer the questions my way, Dickie laughed at me and said he didn't trust me enough to not make a fool out of him. Wasn't that a nice thing for my husband to tell me.

After the press conference, I had a meeting with some campaign people and then I was allowed to go home. Dickie would be stuck at the office for most of the day, but I was no longer needed. Lula had already taken Tommy back to the Governor's mansion in Princeton so all I had to do was find my security guy and head there myself.

TJ, my personal secret service agent, was waiting for me close to the exit and smiled when he first saw me. He was young, eager and former military so he was perfect to protect me. We got along well and since he was gay, there was no weirdness between us. "Hey Steph. You ready to head home?" I nodded and waited while TJ ordered for the car to be brought around. We did our normal routine and played a match of thumb wrestling while we waited. As usual, he won and as we were about to head out the door, Dickie came up behind me and pulled me into a private side office.

He didn't look happy, which wasn't unusual, so I knew I'd done something wrong. "Why do you have to constantly embarrass me? Your guard is here to protect you, not for your entertainment. Leave him alone and let him do his job or I'll replace him with someone else." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Was there a reason you pulled me in here or did you just want to harass me before I head home?" Dickie growled and stepped so close to me that I could smell his smokey breath. I hated that he smoked, but he wouldn't stop for me.

"I wanted to let you know that I have to go out of town his afternoon. I'm needed in Washington for some committee meetings and I don't know when I'll be back. Don't do anything stupid while I'm away." I rolled my eyes and stepped back needing my own space.

"Don't worry, _dear. _I'll be good. Enjoy your trip." Dickie scoffed again and glared at me before walking out of the room. I was beyond relieved that he was leaving. Tommy and I could spend some quality time alone in the mansion. Hopefully there wasn't anything planned for me during the time while he's gone. Lula would know so I'd have to ask her when I got home.

TJ looked at me wearily when I stepped out of the room. I shook my head and he dropped the question that I knew was on his lips. After doing his security check, he motioned for me to come out and before I knew it, we were speeding toward Princeton and my new home. The mansion was nice, but I missed our smallish house in Newark. Maybe I should go back there to stay while Dickie was away. Thinking about that possibility, I zoned out on the drive and jumped when I heard a familiar ring tone from my phone. Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines chorus rang out and I had to smile. I knew exactly was on the phone and I hadn't talked with him a while.

"Hello sexy man. How's my favorite Ranger?" The deep chuckle echoed through my phone and sent shivers through me.

"I'm doing good, Steph. I saw you on TV and decided I needed to call and tell you that the suite you wore was terrible." I laughed out loud drawing TJ's raised eyebrow from the front seat. I wasn't known to laugh like that. I mouthed the name of person on the other end of the call and TJ smiled knowingly.

"Well, tell that to my husband. He thought I needed some fashion tips."

"Well tell him not to take fashion tips from the seventies. Jackie O pulled that look off, but you are way to gorgeous to be so covered. That press conference would have been a whole lot better if you would have worn that blue dress." My face flushed when he mentioned that dress. I wore it for about three minutes one night when I knew he was coming over. He took one look at me and just about ripped the garment off. That dress hasn't been out of my closet since.

"That dress would probably get me labeled as a tramp. That wouldn't be good for the first lady of New Jersey to be labeled a tramp." His laugh boomed in my ear making me smile.

"That it might, Beautiful." I smiled again and couldn't help the blush that crept up my face. "You want some company tonight?"

It had been awhile since I'd seen him and I was getting a little tired of my shower massager, but I wasn't comfortable with him coming to the Governor's mansion. Suddenly, I remembered the house and came up with a plan in my mind. "Why don't you head to the house in Newark and I'll be there waiting for you. Tommy is at the mansion with Lula so I'll have her bring him to me later. Can you get away now?"

"I'm actually off today and was just hanging around the office with the guys. We all watched the ceremony. I about punched two of them when they made some unsavory comments about you." It was my turn to laugh.

"Oh my hero. Do they know that you and I…" My question trailed off.

"No, Steph. I told you that I would keep this quiet and I don't break my promises." I let out the breath that I didn't even know I was holding. I trusted this man, explicitly, so I wasn't worried. At least I didn't think I was.

"Thanks for that. So will I see you later?" I purred into the phone and heard him growl.

"I'm on my way now. I might beat you there as fast as I'm driving."

"Slow down and drive safe. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"See you soon, Beautiful." I heard the phone disconnect and smiled. That man had no phone manners.

"TJ, change of plans. We're headed to the house in Newark." I yelled up to the front seat and sent Lula a text to bring Tommy to me later. She texted back and said he was sleeping and that she'd feed him and bring him after dinner. Glancing at my watch, I knew that I'd have about four hours alone with my friend before needing to clean up to see my son. That may seem like a long time, but let me tell you….four hours is nothing when it comes to him. He can spend hours making me scream with my clothes on. Then when the clothes come off, the fun really starts. I was looking forward to each and every minute with him. After all, I deserved it, right?

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A/N - Okay, please let me know what you think. This is my first attempt at a chapter story so I'm going to need lots of encouragement.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you all for your reviews. I hope that I responded to all of them, but if I missed your then I'm truly sorry. I am so happy that you all want more of this story. It's something that's been rattling around in my head since I first found FanFiction and have just recently gotten the balls to get it written down and posted.

I know I may have confused some with regards to who is Stephanie's secret friend, but you'll find out in the first part of this chapter. Let me reassure you that this WILL be a Babe HEA. Ranger will get his girl, but first...there has to be some things happen. I hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you thought after reading. Remember there is no beta for this so please excuse my mistakes. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 2**

When I arrived at the house in Newark, I didn't see any extra vehicles parked close by but I trusted him to be discrete so I didn't know if he was waiting for me inside or not. TJ pulled up to the front door and did his scan of the surroundings before opening my door. I thought the security measures were stupid, but Dickie said they were in place for my protection so who was I to argue.

Approaching the door, I saw that the alarm on the house was still set, letting me know that everything was secure inside and I was alone. TJ, smiled after shutting the car door and turned to look at me. "I'm gong to gas up the car down the road and go see Hector. He's called me while you were on TV, smiling so pretty..." I couldn't help the blush. "...and he's off today and wants us to meet for an early dinner."

I nodded my head and smirked. "Oh, you and the infamous Hector hit it off, eh?" TJ blushed, making me giggle. He was a handsome man normally, but with a tinge of red on his pale cheeks, he was adorable.

"I guess you could say that. We've only been out together once, but I really like him and I think he likes me. We're taking things slow." He shrugged and then let out a sigh before looked at me sternly. "You going to be okay here by yourself?" The policy was that he was supposed to remain on the premises with me while I was at my private residence, but TJ and I worked out our own policies. I let him go meet his boyfriends and I got to be alone with mine. Not that TJ would ever say anything about who I saw in the absence of my husband. He was dedicated to me and treated me like a younger sister.

"I'll be fine, dad! Don't worry and go have some fun. I'll have a scary Ranger here to protect me. I'll text you when Tommy gets here later so you know when to come back. Sound good?" TJ smiled and nodded. After he kissed my cheek, I watched him hop into the Lincoln Town Car and drive away.

After TJ was safely out the gate in front of the house, I let myself inside and reset the alarm. Pausing just inside the door, I listened for any sounds that someone else might be there. I relaxed, slightly, when I didn't hear or sense anything foreign in my space and began walking through the rooms just to double-check. When most of them turned out empty, prematurely I thought I had some time before my visitor arrived. Apparently I was wrong though.

Walking through the dining room, strong arms wrapped around me suddenly and I soon found myself pulled back into a strong chest. I couldn't stop the scream from escaping my mouth but it didn't last long. I knew who it was the second I smelled his cologne. Calvin Klein's Eternity for men filled my senses and automatically calmed me like nothing else could. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings, Steph." His husky voice whispered right beside my ear.

I couldn't hide the smile from my voice when I spoke. "I'm in my own home. My security alarm was still set, so tell me, oh wise one, why should I be more aware. And how did you get in without triggering my alarm?" I turned around in his arms and looked up into his pale green eyes. They were the most unusual shade I'd ever seen.

"I work for a security company. Alarms are my specialty." My eyes rolled without me giving them permission making him chuckle. "It's good to see you, Steph."

"It's good to see you, too, Les. I hate it when you go out of the country. I worry about you." I snuggled close to his hard body and felt myself relax for the first since I woke up that morning. Les was the only man who I truly felt comfortable letting my guard down with.

I'd met Lester Santos my freshman year of college. He sat behind me in Psychology 101 and constantly made me laugh with his sick sense of humor and crude jokes. We became fast friends but nothing more. He was a player and had no shame in that. I needed more from a relationship and he just couldn't offer what I needed at that time but we stayed close friends. When I met Dickie, Les tried to warn me off from dating him, but I didn't listen and it almost ruined our friendship.

No matter how close we were, Les didn't finish college with me. After our sophomore year, I married Dickie but kept going to school so I could get my degree but Les dropped out and joined the Army with a cousin. He left for basic training the day before my wedding and I never thought I'd see him again.

Five years later, Les came back into my life. He'd just gotten home from an extended tour and decided to look me up. I was miserably married to Dickie at that time and Les had just lost a close friend in the war. We found comfort in each other that night and several nights since then. Les knew the truth about my husband and hated him, but he understood why I stayed with Dickie.

Tommy loved his uncle Es and sometimes I wish Les and I could have had more than what we did, but that was never an option. Les was adamant that he wasn't looking for a relationship and I knew that I was always going to be tied to Dickie. I also didn't LOVE Les that way. I mean, I loved him and he loved me, but it was a friendship only type of love. I didn't think I'd ever truly love someone, except Tommy of course.

"What are you thinking about, Beautiful? You look like you're a million miles away." Les' voice brought me back to the present and I had to sigh as his hand brushed some of my hair away from my face. Slowly, he bent down to kiss the tip of my nose and my eyes closed at the feelings coursing through me. I shook my head to remove the last lingering thoughts of a life that will never exist and smiled brightly at the man in front of me.

"Nothing important. How are you? Are you hurt from your mission?" Les knew I was lying, but he let me get by with it this time. Smiling, he shook his head and did a slow turn for me.

"Perfectly healthy. Ric and I both made it out without a scratch." Les had mentioned his cousin, Ric, before a bunch of times but I didn't realize they did those super secret missions together.

"Is Ric the one who owns the company you work for?" I was slowly trying to learn all about his friends. He talked about them enough, so it was like I almost knew them.

"Yep! We call him Ranger at the office because that's his street name, but to me he'll always be Ric." Les took me in his arms again.

"Well, I'm glad you both made it out okay. I'd hate to think of my life without you in it, Les." I saw a spark of something in his green eyes, but before I could decipher it, it was gone and he was looking at me with hunger and passion.

"Hopefully you'll never have too, Beautiful." Les' whispered as his lips slowly made their way from my ear to my jaw. He placed open mouth, wet kisses on my skin and my stomach immediately liquified. Les has the power to turn me into a puddle of goo in seconds. His lips moved away from my jaw and he zeroed in on my lips. Melting against him instantly, I let out a moan and parted my lips to allow his tongue entrance into my mouth. We were still in the dining room and Les backed me up until my butt hit the edge of the expensive dinning room table. Bad memories filled my brain, but I pushed them away. Maybe it was time to make some new memories. Besides, if Dickie can do it, so can I right?

An hour and a half later, Les and I were laying, naked, under the table both sated and thoroughly relaxed. Our clothes were scattered all over the room, but I didn't care. After my four orgasms, nothing was going to get to me as I basked in the silence of the house. The only sounds around us were our ragged breathes and the occasional cricket from outside.

After several calming minutes, I rolled over and propped my head up on my hand and looked down at the man beside me. I hated to end our evening, but I knew I had to. "Tommy will be here soon. Why don't you and I head upstairs and take a shower together before he and Lula get here. Can you stay for dinner?"

Smiling, Les pulled me down on top of him and kissed me soundly. "Sound like a good plan to me. I haven't had home cooking in weeks." I laughed. Les knew damn good and well that I couldn't cook. Luckily Lula could and she'd agreed to stop at the store on her way here and pick up something to cook for dinner.

Les wiggled out from under the table and did his best to wrestle me out without giving me rug burn. Once we were free, Les scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder. I laughed the whole trip up the stairs as I got an up close and personal view of his world-class butt.

After two more orgasms in the shower and once more in my bed, I was beyond sated and extremely happy. Les was snoring lightly beside me so I decided to get up and shower again before Lula and Tommy got to the house. My phone chirped with an incoming text as I passed the night stand and I noticed that it was from Lula saying they were on their way. After a very fast shower, I threw on come clothes and then woke Les up by kissing up his chest. When I reached the hollow of his throat, he groaned and opened his eyes. "You keep that up and I'm going to drag you back to your bed and never let you leave." His gruff voice made me chuckle.

"No can do, sexy man. Tommy and Lula will be here in about fifteen minutes. Hop in the shower and I'll bring up your clothes." As I walked out of the room, I heard Les groan and smiled to myself.

As quick as I could, I picked up all our discarded clothes and turned off the alarm for the house. Lula didn't have the codes and I hated for the company to have to come out here for no reason. Les was in the shower when I got back upstairs so I left his clothes in the bathroom and then went downstairs to wait for my son. He'd only been away from me for a few hours, but I still missed him terribly. I was waiting at the door when I heard the car pull up and opened it to see Tommy smiling at me from the back seat of the dark town car. His agent, Trevor, smiled at me as I opened the door and unbuckled my son from the seat.

"Hey baby boy. Did you have fun with aunt Lu?" Tommy smiled, big, and nodded his head.

"We play plane and I fart on her." Tommy's giggle made me laugh as I looked at Lula who, for a black woman, had a nice blush covering her face.

"Yo sure did, T-man and it wasn't very nice. Your kid aint got no manners, Steph." Lula huffed and pulled the grocery bags out of the back of the car.

I was almost through the door when Trevor's voice stopped me. "Mrs. Orr, I'm going to park the car around the back and then I'll be in the guard-house with TJ." Panic filled me remembering where TJ was at that moment.

"I sent TJ on a mission for some medication for me. He'll return shortly and will join you then." I kept my voice firm which left no room for Trevor to argue. He simply nodded and climbed back into the car without question. Walking back into the house holding Tommy, I made a mental note to text TJ immediately and tell him to pick up some medication for me. I giggled thinking I could have him pick me up some Midol. I was sure he'd love that assignment.

"UNCLE ES!" Tommy's yell and subsequent wiggling startled me. I hadn't realized that Les was standing in the living room smiling at me and Tommy.

"Mr. T! How's my favorite little guy?" I sat Tommy down and watched him run into Les's open arms before sending TJ a message. Once he sent be back a 10-4 response, I sat my phone down and watched my friend and my son. I'd never seen Tommy run to Dickie that way or had I seen Dickie ever be that welcoming to his son either. The scene before me broke my heart. My son deserved a better father. Someone who loved him and protected him. Dickie only used him to further his political career. Just like he used me.

"I good. Where you been? You miss my burfday." Les laughed and scooped up Tommy and gave him a zerbert on his exposed belly.

"I missed your burfday? That's criminal. You know what though…" I watched with a smile on my face as Les lowered his voice and looked left and right before whispering, loud enough for us all to hear, his non-secret to Tommy. "…I have a gift for you still. But I don't know if you want it."

Tommy looked at him excitedly and started bouncing up and down in Les' arms. "I want! I want! I want!" Les laughed and sat my son down before walking toward the living room and returning with a big black gift back. I wondered why I hadn't seen that when I was in there earlier but decided not to worry about it.

With the anticipation and excitement that only toddlers possess, Tommy ripped the tissue paper out of the bag and pulled out a Batman plush doll that was just about as big as he was. Tommy's eyes got wide and he jumped around excitedly. Batman was his favorite superhero and that doll was the one thing from his birthday list that I just couldn't find.

"Mommy, yook. Uncle Es gave me Batman! I go show Yula ." I laughed as Tommy excitedly ran toward the kitchen where Lula was busy preparing dinner. Les watched him run away with a smiled on his face.

I stepped close to him and placed a warm hand on his arm drawing his attention away from my son and toward me. "Thank you, Les. That was the one thing that I couldn't find to buy him. Where on earth did you find it?" Les laughed and drew me into a hug.

"I actually had to drive across state lines for that doll. When I found out the stores around here were sold out, I looked on-line and found a small toy shop downtown Philly that had ONE left. I called and asked the owner to hold it until I got there. I ended up paying three times what it was worth, but it was worth it to see his face."

Letting out a long sigh I looked up into Les' green eyes. "You didn't have to go through all that trouble Les. He would have been happy with anything you'd given him. He really loves you."

"And I love him. I'd do anything for him. You know that I'm an only child so he's my only chance at having a nephew. He and Julie are probably the only kids I'll ever get to be around." Les spoke with such a wistfulness in his voice that broke my heart. I knew his feelings about marriage and family and it saddened me that he felt he didn't deserve that type of life. He tried to hide and say he didn't want it, but I could see past his mask. I saw the truth.

Instead of pushing and starting the argument that we'd had multiple times in the past, I asked a question instead. "Who's Julie? You've never mentioned her to me before." Les stiffened like I'd said something wrong.

Sighing, Les began to tell me who the other child was. "Julie is my cousin, Ric's, daughter. She wasn't planned and was the result of a one-night-stand with a girl he met at a bar one night on leave. He married the girl and gave Julie his last name and health insurance. Right after the baby was born, him and Rachel divorced and Ric separated himself from Julie. He gave up his parental rights to Rachel's new husband, Ron. He doesn't like us talking about her because he doesn't want one of his enemies to get wind about her and use her against him. I probably shouldn't have told you."

I saw the worry on Les' face and did what I could to put his mind at ease. "Well, you know I can keep a secret so you have nothing to worry about." I got quiet thinking about what Ric had done to protect his daughter. I couldn't imagine not being with Tommy every single day. "I don't know whether your cousin is incredibly stupid or incredibly brave. How did he just walk away from his own child?" I thought about Dickie right then and my stomach turned. He'd have no trouble walking away from Tommy without a problem. I didn't even think Dickie would even look back as he walked out of our lives.

Les' voice broke me out of my pity party. "It wasn't easy for him, but it was the best thing for Julie." Les shrugged and I guess he felt he had to explain his cousin's actions to me. "We were still in the Army and we were being sent on dangerous assignments for months at a time. Because of Ric's decision, Julie was able to be raised by two loving parents. Ric has his regrets, but that's not one of them."

When Les described it that way, I guessed I could kind of see it. I was about to say something else when Lula's voice boomed from the kitchen. "You two love birds get your asses in here dinner's ready."

"Mommy, get you asses in here." Tommy echoed Lula making Les and I laugh as we walked to the kitchen. Lula was trying to erase the damage that she'd already done to my son, but I just laughed at her trying to bribe him to forget that word.

"I'll make you a cake every day for a year if you don't ever say that word again."

"What word? Asses?" Lula huffed as I laughed as Tommy sang. "Asses, asses, asses!" He looked so damn proud of himself that I had to laugh at him.

Les stopped laughing long enough to squat down to Tommy's height and try to smooth things over. "Listen Mr. T. That is an adult word that should only be said when you're older. I don't even use it because I'm too young." I scoffed and hid my giggle behind my hand. Les smirked at me and then turned back to Tommy. "Can you promise me that you'll never say it again until you're much, much older?" Tommy's eyes widened and he nodded, with a serious look on his face. "Good! Now let's eat!"

Lula mouthed 'Thank You' to Les who just smiled and nodded back at her and took his seat at the table. Lula sat down the pizza and salad and we all dug in. Conversation dropped to nothing as we all shoveled the delicious food in our faces. Lula really was an amazing cook and her home-made pizza was one of my favorite foods. It was evident that it was Tommy's too since he had sauce smeared from one ear to the other.

After every morsel of food was gone, I looked at my son and laughed. "Time for your bath, little man. Why don't you run upstairs and I'll be there in a minute." Tommy jumped down and turned to Lula.

"Tank you for dinner Yula. It was yum." Tommy grabbed his Batman doll that had sat beside him during dinner and took off up the stairs.

Chuckling, I turned to Les. "Are you going to still be here when I get done getting him into bed?" Les smiled his panty ruining smile and nodded.

"I'm not going anywhere." I sent him a seductive smile that made Lula snort and took off up the stairs after my son.

I found Tommy stark naked in the bathroom, dancing to the music in his head. I had to laugh because I used to do the same thing when I was his age and even a little older. I hated clothes, even in my twenties, and found any excuse I could to wear as little possible. "Bath time, baby." Tommy smiled at me as I started the water and then climbed in. After splashing a few minutes he looked at me with a confused expression on his little face.

"Mommy, why isn't daddy more nicer yike Es? Does he not yike me?" At that moment I cursed Dickie harder than I ever had before. Tommy was only three and could feel how unwanted he was from his own father.

"Your daddy loves you, baby. He's just been busy with the campaign and stuff." Tommy didn't look convinced but luckily he dropped it. After I got him cleaned up and into his favorite Batman pajamas, I tucked him into bed and we said our prayers together. Luckily he fell asleep half-way through his favorite book so I closed it quietly and gazed at him. Not wanting to leave him, I stayed with him for a few minutes and just held him while he slept.

I hadn't been in there very long when Les quietly knocked on the door and whispered, "He asleep?" I nodded and Les walked over to kiss Tommy's forehead. Seeing his tenderness crushed my heart and I couldn't help the tears from falling. Les noticed right away and scooped me up out of Tommy's bed and carried me to my room. Once the door was shut he started comforting me as best he could. "Beautiful, what's wrong? What happened?"

I let myself calm enough to explain to him why I was so upset. "Tommy asked me why Dickie doesn't like him." Les growled and I couldn't help my anger from erupting remembering my young son's sad features. "That son of a bitch doesn't even know or doesn't care that he's hurting his own son. Sometimes, Les. Sometimes I wish I could just pack my shit and get the fuck out of this town. I don't want Tommy hurt and that's what's going to happen if I stay."

"So let's leave. I'll pack you and Tommy up right now and we'll drive to wherever you want." I smiled through my tears at Les' words. It was a fantasy and we both knew it.

"As good as that sounds, I can't do that and you know exactly why. Dickie would find us and I'd lose Tommy forever. He is the Governor of New Jersey now so he has even more power than he did before. My life sucks, Les." I collapsed against him and let out a long sigh.

"I know, Beautiful. I know." Les held me a bit longer until I got myself under control and was able to sit up. I hated throwing myself pity parties like that, but I had no option then.

"I need to find my phone and make sure TJ made it back from his rendezvous with his boyfriend." Les laughed and shook his head. He handed me my phone with a smile.

"He got back while we were eating dinner. He's in the guard-house with Trevor. Lula cleaned up and told me to tell you to call her with your plans for tomorrow. She said your schedule is clear as of now, but she didn't know what you wanted to do." I nodded and sent the guards both a 'in for the night' text and then walked to the security panel on the wall by my bedroom door. Before I set the alarm for the night, I turned around and looked at Les.

"Can you stay the night or do you need to get back?" Standing up, Les walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my middle. His hot lips kissed the back of my neck, making me almost melt.

"I'm here for whatever you need, Beautiful." He reached up and punched my code in to set my alarm before turning me in his arms. I should have been surprised, but I trusted Les. He was the only man around me at that time that I did trust one hundred percent. I thought at that time that he would probably be the only man I ever trusted.

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A/N - I reworked this chapter a little last night before posting today so I hope I didn't screw it up too much. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Characters do not belong to me. I just put them in my own sick and twisted world.**

Thank you all so much for the reviews and favorites/follows. They truly mean the world to me. If I failed to respond to your review, it was not intentional and I apologize.

Remember there is no beta for this story so please excuse my mistakes. I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 3**

"Mommy, mommy, mommy…." Tommy came barreling into my room and jumped on my bed. "I went wee by myself this morning. That mean I get nonught for breakfast?" I had to chuckle at my son's excitement over his beloved donuts. He used to only get them every once in a while but I made him a deal that he could have them for breakfast if he stayed dry all night and made it to the bathroom in the mornings. So far, he hadn't been able to do it, but today I guess was different.

"That's exactly what it means little man. Run downstairs and I'll be there in a minute. Mommy has to go to the bathroom so she can have a nonught too." Tommy giggle and climbed off my bed. He took off running out of my room and I was amazed at his energy. I had no idea where he got it from this early in the morning. I glanced over to the other side of the bed where Les had been sleeping not an hour before, but it was empty now. Laying on a pillow was a note.

_Beautiful - I was going to wake you before I left, but you looked too damn peaceful. I'm working today and tomorrow but am off Saturday and Sunday. Let me know if you want to get together. I know with you being the First Lady of NJ now your schedule will be insane, but to me you'll always be my Beautiful. Remember that and let me know if you ever need anything (besides my sexy body). I'm always here for you. Love - Les_

I chuckled at his playfulness and then shredded the note before flushing it down the toilet. The last thing I needed was word of my affair to get out. My mother would be horrified and my husband would probably use it to gain sympathy votes even though he's slept with a different woman every night. Sometimes the world of politics is an ugly thing.

During the campaign, a journalist published a story about Dickie's numerous women and it was poised to turn into a big scandal. I thought that was the end of his chances at Governor, but sadly the journalist who wrote the story suddenly retracted her statements and was fired from her job. That was the last time the press said anything about the amount of women coming and going from my husband's side. I guess money can buy anything because during that campaign, I witnessed it buying the media.

Remembering that Tommy was waiting for his donut, I quickly did my morning routine and threw on my robe before walking down the stairs to my waiting son. Tommy was sitting patiently in his booster seat with his Batman sitting beside him. "Does Batman want a donut too?" Tommy looked surprised for a second before giggling.

"Batman not real, mommy." Tommy looked thoughtful for a minute and then leaned over like he was whispering to the doll. Smiling his big, toothy grin, Tommy said in the sweetest voice I'd ever heard from him, "But Batman said I can have his donut since he can't have it." I laughed and placed two powdered donuts on a plate for my son. They are his ultimate favorite and I knew that they'd be devoured before my coffee was even done brewing.

Tommy and I were enjoying our breakfast when a knock at the back door startled me. I instinctively tightened the sash on my robe before walking over and turning off the alarm. Peaking out the window, I saw TJ smiling at me from outside so I let him in. He didn't usually interrupt me while I was home so I knew something must be wrong. "Governor Orr contacted Trevor and I and informed us that we are to take you and little man back to the mansion ASAP. He's waiting for you. I guess he scheduled a meeting this morning with some people." I furrowed my brow and poured me and TJ a cup of coffee. Dickie was not going to dictate where and I went and when. He could take his meeting and shove it.

Handing TJ his mug, I rolled my eyes at him. "Why didn't my husband call me himself? I've had my phone next to me all morning and it hasn't…" That second, my phone rang from its place on the counter with my husband's familiar ring tone. Knowing it was Dickie, I let it ring until the last possible second before answering it. "Hello, Dickie. What can I do for you?"

"Where the fuck are you?" Venom dripped in his words as he hissed into the phone.

Not even attempting to hide the sarcasm in my voice, I responded. "Oh it's so wonderful to hear from you too, darling." I heard him growl and curse under his breath and decide to get the conversation over with. "I'm at the house in Newark. You told me you'd be out of town for a few days so I decided to come here. Why are you back so soon?"

"You're only there to fuck your boyfriend. I want your ass back here NOW. We have work to do and I need you here." I could almost picture Dickie's red face and the spittle flying out of his mouth as he talked. It wasn't an attractive look but one that I knew quiet well.

I pinned TJ with a pleading look and then looked at Tommy. TJ took the hint and nodded that he'd keep an eye on my son while I finished the conversation in another room. Taking the phone with me into the den, I closed the door and went directly into rhino mode. "At least I don't have a parade of women coming in and out of my room, Dickie. What I do on my time is my business. Those were your words, so I don't want to hear a fucking thing about it. Tommy and I enjoy staying here more than at the mansion, you know that."

Dickie scoffed at me and I could almost sense the eye roll. "Whatever Stephanie, just you and my son get back here as soon as possible. We're meeting with some friends and they've requested that you be present. This is an important meeting so I want you here looking your best."

"What time?" I asked trying to calm myself down.

"They'll be here for a one o'clock lunch. Get home now!" I could tell Dickie was losing patience and I needed to end the conversation before one, or both of us, said something too hateful.

"We'll be there as soon as we can. Tommy just woke up and is eating breakfast now." With that, I hung up and let out a deep, calming breath. Damn, I really hated my husband some days. Well, most days….errrr, every day.

Tommy was done eating by the time I made it back to the kitchen and was showing TJ how he could wrestle his Batman like they do on TV. TJ smiled as Tommy jumped off the chair and drove his elbow into Batman's stomach. "That was quite a flying elbow, T-man. I'm impressed."

I hated to interrupt the playful atmosphere, but I knew I needed to hurry to make it back to Princeton on time. "Tommy, baby, we gotta get dressed and go meet your daddy." Tommy frowned and looked sad for a second. I looked at TJ, who was watching Tommy with a sad expression as well. "Send Trevor back to the mansion and pull Tommy's seat into your car. We'll both ride back with you. Give me about an hour and we should be ready to go." TJ smiled at me and nodded as he walked out the back door. I reset the alarm and carried Tommy up the stairs. After getting him cleaned up and dressed in a cute little sweater vest combo, I sat him in front of the TV with an episode of Sponge Bob and headed to the bathroom to shower and dress. Sponge Bob was the only way for me to shower in peace and quiet. Tommy loved the show and would watch it mesmerized for as long as I'd let him.

Exactly an hour later, I was dressed and ready to return to my prison, I mean the Governor's mansion. Tommy brought his new Batman with him to show his dad and I packed a few of his toys that he loved. His room at the mansion didn't have everything that he liked and I wanted to make sure Tommy was well entertained while we were there. I had no idea who we were meeting or why.

On the drive to Princeton, I called Lula to see if she knew anything but she said she had nothing on the books for me today so I knew this whole fiasco reeked of Dickie. I was sure it was some campaign contributors who he needed to kiss up to. I was the one who got him and his running mate most of their campaign money. I was the pretty face that opened checkbooks. I was sure that was what Dickie needed. Stupid fucking husband and his stupid fucking job.

I never asked for this life. I was perfectly happy in my tiny apartment that I lived in before Dickie and I got married. I don't need a huge house and lots of stuff. I just needed someone who loved me and who treated me decently. Dickie did neither of those things. I was his cash cow who he brought in to milk me whenever he needed some money. Stupid prick.

When we finally pulled up in front of the mansion I let out a breath and plastered on a fake smile. TJ opened my door for me as Lula got Tommy out on the other side. Dickie stood at the door with a fake smile on his face and a few people I'd never seen before standing behind him. "There's my beautiful wife and handsome son." He held out his arms and kissed me on both cheeks. I smiled, sweetly and kissed him back. Dickie took Tommy out of Lula's arms and even gave him a kiss. My heart broke watching Tommy glow under his father's fake attention. "And here is my favorite little guy." Dickie noticed the Batman and glared at me before asking Tommy, "Where did you get that?" He tried to sound inquisitive, but I heard the disdain in his tone.

"Uncle Es gave it to me for my burfday. I see him last night." Dickie shot me another glare and I knew I would be paying for Tommy's statement later. Waving off Dickie's look, I smiled sweetly and approached the waiting guests.

"Hi, Stephanie Plum-Orr. Sorry Tommy and I were late. We ran into some issues this morning." The older gentleman brushed off my apology like it was nothing.

"No need to apologize Mrs. Orr. We all know how these things can be. My name is Jameson Butler the third and this is my son, Jameson Butler the fourth and my wife Clara." I shook each persons hand and smiled at them. The fourth Jameson kind of creeped me out, but I didn't let my smile falter. After all, that's why I was there.

Dickie stepped up next to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. "The Butler's are some of our biggest supporters. Jameson owns half of the commercial real-estate in Newark and Trenton and he wants to talk to you about some plans he has for a shelter for battered women." My ears perked up at that. I was a humanitarian at heart and wanted to do all I could for the people in our communities.

"Well I would be happy to speak to you about that Mr. Butler." Jameson the third smiled at me and offered me his arm. Dickie still had Tommy so I was a little worried, but I noticed Lula sticking close so I relaxed and fell into the conversation with elder Mr. Butler.

Four hours…yes I said four hours…later, the Butlers finally left and I was fuming. Dickie was smiling like a fool holding a check for millions for his reelection campaign. It turned out, I was used once again. Mr. Butler was only building the shelter to repair the damage to his family name caused by his son, the fourth, when he raped and beat a prostitute he picked up in Trenton. The only reason the bastard was out walking as a free man was because his daddy's lawyers, one of Dickie's former partners, convinced the judge that it's impossible to rape a prostitute because she's out looking for someone to sleep with. After some money got passed, the son was released and the charges dropped. The young woman was thrown into jail for solicitation. The shelter was supposed to redeem the once prestigious family name and I was going to help them do it. The whole thing made me sick.

Dickie noticed my anger and rolled his eyes. "Don't start your shit with me, Stephanie. Just do your fucking job and we won't have any problems. The Butler's aren't bad people. The kid did something stupid and they're making up for it. I thought this would make you happy. This is what you live for. Helping the scum of the world."

"What I live for is helping the people who can't help themselves. Jameson Butler the third and the fourth need to be thrown in jail. I can't believe you think it's okay for him to just be out walking around after doing what he did. My God, Dickie, he was bragging about it. Now, I'm supposed to be happy because they want to build a shelter. Did you hear what their budget is? I'm sure the wife's monthly shoe budget is more that what they're giving to the shelter project. The whole thing disgusts me and I hate that you think I'd be all happy about this." I didn't hide my contempt or my anger during my rant.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. Your get your shelter and the Butler name will be restored. It's a win, win. Maybe you can put LaLa in charge of helping you. Wasn't she a prostitute once? Honestly Stephanie where do you find these people? She's almost as bad as that thug you insist on sleeping with. I don't want him around my son. He's dangerous."

My reaction to his words was swift and I couldn't stop my hand before it struck him across the face. Seeing his reaction, I knew intently that I'd made a mistake. Dickie grabbed me around the upper arms and squeezed tightly. I knew I would have bruises, but that was the least of my worries. I knew what was coming next and it was my own fault. "You stupid bitch. Don't you ever lay another hand on me. I'm THE most powerful man in this state and I will have you arrested if you try that shit again. I will also make sure you never see that brat of a son for as long as you live. Do. You. Understand. Me?"

I swallowed and nodded my head. "Yes, Dickie. I'm sorry. I won't let it happen again." I heard his growl before he threw me across the room. I stumbled and fell face first onto the floor. My knees and hands would have rug burn and my upper arms ached from his grasp. I couldn't stop the tears from falling, but I picked myself up and adjusted my clothes as best I could. Luckily we were in Dickie's private office, so no one else was there witness my humiliation.

"I don't understand why you have to push me, Stephanie. All you have to worry about is looking pretty and smiling when I tell you to. That's all. I'll handle everything else. Jesus, you fuck up the simplest things." Dickie walked to his desk and pulled out one of his very illegal cuban cigars knowing the smell made me sick. With his back to me, he continued talking. "Help complete this shelter, smile for the cameras on opening day, say what a great man Jameson Butler is and then go about your business. That's all you have to do. Do that or your parent's will be homeless. You got it?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat I uttered one word, "Yes."

"Good. Now get the fuck out of my office. I have work to do and you're god awful perfume is interfering with the smell from my cigar."

Before I could reach the door, Dickie's voice stopped me again. "Remember what I said about my son and that thug. You've had your fun with him and now it's time to grow up."

I turned around and glared at my husband letting my anger get the better of me once again. "Are you going to stop sleeping with your whores and grow up or is this just a one-sided thing? Les has been my friend longer than you've been my husband so I will NOT cut him out of my life. He is a better man than you will ever be and loves YOUR son more than you ever could."

Dickie scoffed and walked over to where I stood by the door. "He's a gutter rat, Stephanie. You always did have low expectations for the people you chose to hang out with." Dickie shook his head and blew a puff of smoke at me. Smirking, he continued talking. "Do whatever you want. I could care less, but I do not want Tommy around him. He's MY son, not the thugs."

"Then act like it! What did you buy Tommy for his birthday? Nothing. You sent your secretary out and she bought him a baseball glove. Do you even know who your son is? He hates baseball. But of course if you spent just the slightest amount of time with him, you'd know that. Jesus Dickie, you ignore him like you ignore me. At least in Les he has somewhat of a father figure and now you want to take that away?" I never saw his hand coming as it slapped me across the face. My head snapped to the side and my cheek stung like crazy.

"**I** am Tommy's father and I know him better than street trash ever will. If you're so desperate to keep the thug in your life, fine, but do not ever suggest that he's a better man than me. I am the fucking Governor and he's nothing. You'll do well to remember that." Dickie gave me one last pitying look before walking back over to his desk. "Now get out of my office. I've got work to do."

I didn't hesitate to leave that time. Quickly, I made my way through the mansion and up the stairs to my suite. I knew Lula probably had Tommy in his room but I needed to freshen up before going to see him. I didn't want him or her to see that I'd been crying.

Once locked in my room, I broke and let the tears fall. Dickie had hit me before, but there was something different in his tone and his attitude that scared me that day. I think it was because it was the first time he actually threatened Tommy in some way. Usually he threatened to ruin me or my parent's, but he never threatened to take Tommy from me. Thoughts swirled in my mind as I sank to the floor crying.

Could Dickie really take Tommy from me? His old law buddies were ruthless when it came to their tactics. Their practice covered every area of law possible. My limited knowledge and the little amount of money would be no match for Dickie if he decided to fight me for custody. I knew if he truly wanted to, he could and would take my son. I couldn't let that happen.

Needing the comfort that only Tommy could give me, I dried my tears and went into my en-suite bathroom to clean up my face as best I could. A little extra makeup covered the angry red mark and my eyes looked almost back to normal, but it was going to have to be good enough. I changed out of my dress and slipped into comfortable jeans to cover my red and bruised knees and a large sweatshirt that would semi cover my hands. I didn't want Lula to ask questions if she noticed. Some things were better left a secret.

Tommy was wrestling with his Batman doll when I walked into his room. "Hey baby, you having fun with Batman and Lula?" I tried my best to sound chipper, but Lula's look told me she didn't believe my false cheerfulness. Luckily, for me Tommy didn't pick up on my attitude.

"I have fun, mommy. Yuya read me story and then Batman got butt kicked." Tommy's enthusiasm made me chuckle. He was so full of life and was so much like me. I was already tired of being cooped up in the mansion and I was sure Tommy was too but I didn't know where we could go or what we could do. Suddenly a thought popped into my head and I looked over at my son.

"Hey, buddy. How about you and I go to the park to play." Tommy smiled big at me and started jumping up and down.

"Trevor go too? He push me on swings." I was beyond sick of the constant guards and the agents. I wanted a chance to just be a mom with my son. I wanted to be normal for a few hours so I decided we'd leave the guards at the mansion.

"No, baby. Why don't just you and I go?" Lula raised her eyebrow and looked at me. "Lu, can I borrow your car? You can tell the guys that I lifted the keys while you weren't looking. I just need to get away with Tommy for a little while." Lula looked at me with pity in her eyes and reached into her purse for her keys. Luckily she had a spare car seat in her car for when she took Tommy for me.

"Promise me you'll be safe, Steph. What park are you going to so I know where to send people if you don't come back." I rolled my eyes, but decided to pacify her anyway.

"I thought maybe we'd go to the park in the 'Burg and then maybe go to my parent's for dinner. They haven't seen Tommy since his birthday." Lula sighed and handed me her car keys.

"We go see PawPaw?" Tommy loved my dad so he was jumping excitedly on the bed. I smiled and nodded at him which made him cheer louder.

"Let's get you changed into play clothes then we'll sneak out." Lula didn't look too thrilled about my plans, but it was exactly what I needed. I wanted to be surrounded by familiar things and people. As much as it killed me to admit, I also needed my family. They had the tendency to drive me nuts, but I still loved them. My dad and grandma were my support system and I needed them more than I was willing to admit. I knew it was dangerous, but it was something that I had to do. I had to get away, even if it was just for a few hours.

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A/N - Okay, who seriously wants to kill Dickie? I'm ready for some Ranger action so you can expect to see him in the next chapter which should be out Monday or Tuesday!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Character's aren't mine. I'm just playing with them.

I haven't gotten around to replying to your reviews, but I will hopefully get to that soon. I read and appreciate each and every one of them. Please keep them coming!

Remember this story doesn't have a beta so there is going to be some mistakes. I hope there aren't too many though.

I know I originally said that this would be out on Monday or Tuesday, but I decided since it was Valentine's Day I would publish it as a gift to all my amazing reviewers. You all make me want to keep writing and keep posting, so you deserve a reward. I hope you enjoy it! : )

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**Chapter 4**

I learned sneaking out of the Governor's mansion wasn't that difficult, even while carrying a three-year old. I dressed down and tucked my hair up under a ball cap so no one would recognize me at first glance and even. All the staff were busy doing God knows what and the secret service agents were all watching a soccer game in the lounge. I was able to walk right out the back door with Tommy and load him up in Lula's car. Then I waved to the agents as I passed through the gate and pointed her car toward Trenton, or more specifically, the 'Burg.

I'd grown up in the Chambersburg section of Trenton. It was its own little world and was different from any other place I'd ever experienced. It was permanently stuck in the 1950's where women stayed home and cooked, cleaned, and did everything they could to please their husbands. The men all worked hard and supported their families. The kids of the 'Burg did everything they could to make their parent's proud. Well, every kid but me.

Growing up, I always felt stifled. My mom, bless her heart, tried to mold me to be like her but I baulked at everything she did. I never wanted to just sit at home and cook and clean. I wanted to do things with my life. When I was little, I wanted to fly. Being older that, I knew flying wasn't an option, but I still wanted to live my life how I felt it best. I didn't want people telling me what I should or shouldn't do. Sounds kind of silly coming from the Governor's wife huh? But like I said before, I never asked for that life.

Tommy chattered the entire way to the park and was almost bouncing with excitement when we finally pulled in. It was early evening, so the park was empty. A fact that I was thankful for. I didn't want someone recognizing and calling the press. I knew the media would be there quicker than I could say shit. Bunch of vultures were always looking for a story from me.

The second I sat Tommy down out of the car, he took off running toward the swing set laughing like only a three-year old could. I quickly followed right behind him, chuckling to myself. As Tommy played on the swing, I took a seat on a nearby bench and decided to call my mom to let her know to expect us for dinner.

After I'd accomplished that chore, I sat back and let out a long sigh. Tommy had moved to the twisty slide and was squealing his way down over and over. Finally feeling free, I closed my eyes enjoying the cool evening air. I heard the sound of footsteps jogging close to me and turned my head to see a man running toward me on the path. Even though he was still a ways away from me, I still saw enough of him to make my mouth run dry.

Imagine the best looking man who you've ever seen and multiply that times one-hundred and you'll have an idea of the Adonis jogging by me that day. He was about six-foot, with muscles on top of muscles. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so his chiseled chest and abs were on full display and his strong legs peaked out of his black running shorts. His skin tone hinted at a Latino heritage and is what I would classify as mocha-latte. I pictured myself licking the sweet from him just to see how he tasted. He had shoulder length black hair and when he got close enough, I saw his eyes were a deep brown color. Talk about sex walking….errr, running.

His eyes met mine as he ran by and he gave me a slight smile instantly ruining my panties. My eyes followed him without me telling them to as he ran by and I got a close up view of the best ass I'd ever seen. My mouth was dry and my hormones screaming only after about a thirty second interaction. I watched him until he was out of my vision's range and then turned back to check on Tommy's playground progress. He had moved on to the merry-go-round and was spinning in circles as I fantasized about a complete stranger.

Tommy was still going strong twenty minutes later but my stomach was grumbling in distress. I couldn't stand eating earlier with the rich snobs and my breakfast left my system hours before so I decided it was time to head to my parent's. Dinner wasn't until seven, but I knew I could snack on something and visit with my family. "Tommy, let's go see your PawPaw and Meemaw." He hopped off the merry-go-round and promptly fell flat on his face. I ran over and scooped him up. "Baby, are you okay?"

Even though there were tears on his face, he nodded his head. "I okay. Just hurt my knee." He was pulling up his pant leg to show me his scuffed knee. "See my owie?"

I looked and saw a small red spot on his knee so I bent and kissed it gently. "There. Is that better?" Tommy smiled and nodded. I scooped him up and positioned him on my back. His small arms circled my neck and I wrapped his legs around me. My stomach got tingly the second I started walking toward the parking lot but I didn't know why. I looked around and only saw one other person.

The man was walking towards Tommy and I and he didn't look friendly. He wore torn up jeans and a stained white tank top. His greasy hair was hidden under a truckers cap and the sneer on his face had my pulse quickening. I stiffened my spine and kept walking towards Lula's car. "Hey pretty thang. You out here all by your lonesome?" His voice had a southern drawl that made my skin crawl. "Why don't you and I spend some time together? You look like exactly what I need."

I walked around him and kept my head down without responding praying that he just let me go. My luck wasn't that good though. He reached out and grabbed my arm, spinning me back to face him. "Hey, I was talking to you. It's rude to just ignore me, bitch."

Tommy stiffened on my back. "Hey, don't be a meanie and yeave my mommy ayone." The man sneered at Tommy.

"Well aren't you a little brave guy? Cute too. My brother would like you. You can play with him while I play with your mommy." Fear and disgust filled me. I knew exactly what he was implying and there was no way I was going to let him even touch my child.

I swung Tommy around and sat him down making sure he was tucked safely behind me. Then I turned and faced the man with a cold look on my face. I would sacrifice my life for my son's well-being and planned on doing just that. "I will fight you with everything I have in me if you even think about touching me and I will make sure you don't lay one finger on my son." My voice didn't waver, which surprised me, but I didn't let that show. The man just sneered and reached for me again, but I dodged him making sure to keep Tommy behind me.

Cursing myself for not bringing TJ or Trevor with us, I did what I could to keep out of the man's grasp and tried to work my way to Lula's car. When I got to the door, I opened it and shoved Tommy in before slamming it shut. The man still stalked closer to me and since I had nowhere to go, his sneer turned predatory. He pressed his smelly, disgusting body close to me and my self-preservation kicked in so I began to fight him. I knew he was stronger than me so I had no hope of fighting him off. My only hope was that someone came to my rescue, but since the park was practically deserted at that time of the day, that hope was small and I knew it.

**Ranger POV**

You ever have those days where you never thought it would end, even though you really needed it to. The days where nothing goes right and you're constantly doing something. Most of my days were like that, but the day I became Batman was an incredibly bad day.

It started at exactly midnight when an alarm went off at a high paying account so I hopped out of bed and dealt with the young punks and the police until five o'clock that morning. Just when I thought I was going to be able to get some sleep, my second in command, Tank, informed me that one of my employees got shot while on patrol. So instead of going to bed I headed to the hospital instead.

Luckily, Ram was wearing a vest so I knew he would be okay, but I still had to deal with all the paperwork. That is always a nightmare, but I fought through it and stayed in the waiting room until Ram got released right before noon. I was beyond exhausted and my day was only half over. I hadn't slept for almost 30 hours but I couldn't take a nap because I had piles of paperwork waiting for me at the office.

Running your own business is tough. I had three partners who were more like brothers, but they didn't deal with the paperwork that I had to. Tank was an expert with planning the takedowns so he focused on the bonds enforcement side. Bobby, the medic of the company, was a genius at sweet talking people so he dealt mostly with the customers. Lester, my cousin, was a technical maniac and dealt with the security side of the company. That left me, the boss, to deal with all the paperwork. If I didn't love those guys, I'd hate them.

We all served together in the Army. Les and I grew up together and we met Tank and Bobby the first day of basic training and we'd been together ever since. We all joined the Rangers together and became one unified team. We got sent to some of the worst places this world had to offer and there were times where I didn't think we'd survive. But we did and our bond only grew stronger.

When I got back to the office that afternoon with Ram, Les was waiting for me in my office with a smile on his face. I knew exactly what that smile meant too. He'd gotten laid which meant he was also in a helpful mood. "Primo, I hear you're having a shit day. What can I do to help?"

"You can start by getting out of my office. Your smile is offensive." Les just laughed at me and shook his head.

"You're just jelly that I got some last night and you had to deal with a grouchy customer." Les chuckled for a few beats and then got serious. "How's Ram?"

"Fine. He was wearing his vest so he only has bruising. The shot would have killed him without the vest on." Les nodded and looked as thankful I was that Ram was wearing the Kevlar. We'd seen too many friends killed by senseless violence.

Shaking his head from his thoughts, Les looked at me. "Seriously, what can I do to help? You haven't slept or ate and you look like you're ready to blow."

"You really want to help?" My voice was hopeful.

Lester smiled. "You know it, Primo. What can I do?"

"Help me with these employee evaluations. We'll get them done in half the time and then I'll go for a run to clear my head." Les smiled and scooted up to my desk.

Hours later, the pile of files was gone and I had a pounding headache. Les' smile faded and he looked about as tired as I felt. "Thanks for your help, man."

"Anytime, Ric. Get out of the building. Breathe some fresh air and then come back and crash. I'll tell the guys to call me with any problems tonight." I raised my brow at his words.

"Not meeting the mystery girl tonight?" Les had the decency to blush as he shook his head.

"Nah. I'm not sure what she has planned today, but I knew I had to work today and tomorrow so I didn't set anything with her."

"When do I get to meet this girl? Hell, I don't even know her name."

"Probably never, Ric. She's married and we're just having fun." I knew my cousin better than he thought I did and I saw that he was lying through his perfect teeth. He felt something for the woman. I hadn't known that she was married before that day. Les rarely talked about his personal life, but I'd known he was involved with someone I just didn't know the extent of the involvement. I wondered what he was doing getting involved with a married woman. And what kind of woman had an ongoing affair while staying married to her husband? Maybe it was best that I didn't meet her. I was likely to say something hateful. I had no respect for cheaters.

"Just be careful, man. Jealous husbands aren't fun." I didn't know what else to say to him and his scoff to my statement had me wondering exactly what was going on but I didn't ask. After the day I had, a run was exactly what I needed. "I'm going up to seven and then I'm going for a run. Thanks for taking call tonight."

Les nodded and I left him in my office and headed up to my penthouse to change. I threw on some basketball shorts and my tennis shoes and headed back to the stairs. I didn't worry with a shirt because they only got in the way as I ran.

Turning left out of my building's underground garage, I headed straight for a park that I liked to run in. It was usually quiet and was in an older neighborhood so there weren't young women flocking around me. I hated when women fell over themselves when I was around. I was a good-looking guy, I knew that, but damn…can't a guy just go for a run without being checked out?

I hit the park and relaxed when I saw it was empty. Taking off at my normal speed, I ran around the walking path that circled the entire lush landscape. On my second circuit around the park, I picked out a red car parked in the lot so I knew someone else was around. Rounding the corner, I saw exactly who it was. A woman sat on a bench watching what looked like a three-year old boy play. Running towards her, I was able to examine her.

She looked tall and thin, but I couldn't really see much through her over sized sweat shirt and jeans. She had her hair crammed under a Ranger's ball cap, but I could tell from the few strands sticking out that it was curly. She turned to see who was approaching her and I was impresses at her awareness. I guessed mamma bear was protecting her cub.

Her eyes trailed over me which would normally annoy me, but for some reason I liked that woman checking me out. When her eyes finally met mine, my heart stuttered and I swear the woman saw my soul. Her crystal blue eyes were gorgeous and even though I couldn't see all of her face because of the hat, I knew she was beautiful too. Recognition registered in my brain and I knew I knew her, but I couldn't pinpoint where I would have seen her before. She wasn't the type of woman who I'd have seen in a club, but even still my mind screamed that I knew who she was.

I couldn't help my lips from curling up in a smile as I ran by her and I felt her eyes on me until I was sure I was out of her vision range. Usually, I hated women who openly ogled me like that, but I liked it when she did. Continuing my run, I decided that maybe if she was still there on my next circuit, I'd stop and talk to her. Just because she had a kid didn't mean she wasn't available for a night of pleasure and that was all it would be. One night. My life didn't lend itself to relationships so one night was all I could offer.

Even though I pounded the pavement, I couldn't get the woman out of my mind. There was something so familiar about her and it bothered me enough that I had to find out who she was. I just hoped she was still there when I made it back to that side of the park.

I hadn't been running long after seeing the woman when my instincts started going haywire. Something was seriously wrong around me and I immediately went on alert. The woman's face popped into my head and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was in trouble. I turned around and quickened my pace to where I last saw her.

When the bench she'd been on came into view, I saw it empty. The fear in my heart was unfamiliar and it confused me. Fear was not an emotion that I was used to. I looked around the park for the woman and finally found her and the scene in front of me turned my blood cold and had my inner beast roaring.

A dead man had the woman pushed up against her car and even from my distance, I could see the fear written in her stance. The electricity in the air was palpable and cracked with trouble and suddenly I saw why. The woman began to struggle against the man who refused to let her go.

Being in the military, I was trained by the best of the best, so seeing the mystery woman in trouble, my instincts kicked in instantly. Without really thinking, I ran up and grabbed the man by the pack of his dirty tank top and pulled him away from her. I didn't even give him a chance to say anything. I simply slammed my fist into his jaw and sent him crumbling to the ground. After making sure he was down and not getting back up, I turned to the woman. "Are you okay?" She nodded and with fear laced eyes looked at the man on the ground. He groaned and started to move, so I walked over and kicked him in the head to temporarily shut him up.

"Wow! Mommy you see that? He kicked that guys butt just yike Batman." The little voice echoed from the open door of the car making me chuckle. "Mommy…mommy…mommy, it's Batman. He's real."

The woman was in shock and wasn't responding to the little boy pulling on her pants leg. He eyes never left the man laying unconscious on the ground. I smiled at the kid and squatted down so I was eye level with him. "I'm not Batman, little guy."

His eyes got wide when I spoke and I couldn't help smile at his hero-worship. Suddenly the sweetest voice I'd filled the air. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I can't believe this shit. Why does this happen to me? I can't be here when the cops come. Fuck, what am I going to do?"

"MOMMY! You say bad words." The little boys scolding voice snapped the woman out of her shock.

"Shit…I mean shoot, baby. I'm sorry. We gotta go, get in your seat." She quickly lifted the little boy into his seat and buckled him in. As she was bent over fiddling with the buckles, I did the guy thing and checked out her heart-shaped ass. It was perfect, in my opinion. She took her hat off as she stood back up and her hair cascaded down around her shoulders in righteous curls. When she turned back to me, I knew my early assessment was correct. She was absolutely stunning and my cock instantly took notice. "Thank you so much. I don't know how I could ever possibly thank you for saving me, but I have to leave. I can't be caught here."

"No need to thank me. I saw trouble and had to help. I'll be happy to handle the cops so there's no need to stay." I took a step closer and wanted to touch her, but I held back.

She smiled at me and my heart double timed it. "Thank you again. Forget you saw me here and forget this car. I can't believe I was so stupid to come here by myself." She started mumbling again and was practically shaking.

My hand reached out and touched her face before I could stop it. The feelings coursing through my body when I touched her were entirely too hard to ignore. I could tell she felt it too because her eyes got wide and she leaned into my touch and melted, just a little. I didn't know why she was running, but I knew she felt she had to go. My voice whispered when I next spoke. "I'll take care of everything, Babe. You go."

She hesitated slightly before smiling at me again and stepping out of my touch. I watched as she walked around her car and climbed in. I yanked her attacker out of the way so she could back out without running over the fool. She pulled out a bit and then stopped and I watched as the back window rolled down and the little boy's voice floated out to my ears. "Tank you for savin me mom, Batman."

Laughing I leaned inside the car and ruffled the little guys hair. "You're welcome. You take care of your mommy, okay?" The boy smiled and I caught the woman's eye as she looked over her shoulder. Pulling my head out of the window, I watched as she pulled the car out of the parking lot and drove away. I memorized the plates on the car telling myself that I just wanted to be aware of my surroundings, but in all honesty I wanted to know who exactly the woman was. I wanted to know everything I could about her.

Once she was gone, I pulled out my phone and called Les. "Yo, boss. How's your run?"

"Enlightening, but I ran into some trouble. I need a clean up crew and a box addressed to Burundi. I have a guy here that thinks it's okay to attack innocent women in the park." I heard Les growl and knew he'd take care of everything. There was no need to get the police involved. I was sure this piece of trash wouldn't ever be missed. He had no vehicle there that we had to worry about so making him disappear would be easy.

Ten minutes after giving the order, a black SUV driven by my cousin pulled into the park and stopped beside me. He hopped out and looked down at the man on the ground. "Damn, Ric. He must have said something stupid. You knocked him the fuck out." I smirked and watched as another one of my men, Woody, pulled out a big wooden box. He and Les secured the still unconscious man inside and put the box back inside the SUV. "We'll take him back to RangeMan and have Bobby sedate him for his trip before we send him on his way. You want to say goodbye?"

"Nah. Good riddance to bad rubbish is what my mom always says." Les laughed and shook his head.

"I know. Tia Marisol is full of interesting tidbits. You want a ride back or are you running?"

"I think I'll walk back. My head could use some more fresh air." Les smiled at me and hopped back into the SUV. After watching them pull out, I let out a sigh and turned my tired body back towards my office on Haywood. What started out as a terrible day, turned out to not be that bad. A chance meeting with a complete stranger made my bad day better. I didn't know who she was, but I planned on finding out. Something told me that I needed to see her again.

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A/N - And enter Ranger! I decided their first meeting had to be a little dramatic since I wanted to work in the Batman reference. LOL. Let me know what you thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Characters do not belong to me. I'm just using them like puppets.

Thank you all for your reviews of the last two chapters. I haven't gotten around to responding yet but I will. I figured you all would rather read this chapter than my review responses. : )

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**Chapter 5**

**SPOV**

Beating myself up, royally; I drove to my parent's house. How could I be so freaking stupid? I knew better than to go out without my guards. Anything could have happened to me or to Tommy while we were out that day and it would have been my fault. I shuddered thinking about the things that could have happened to either of us. Hell, if it wasn't for the sexy stranger…my worst nightmare would have come true. I could have lost my son.

Panic filled me again thinking about the stranger. What if he recognized me? What if he called the press and told them his story. I would embarrass Dickie and I would pay the price. I should have given the guy some money to keep his mouth shut. Damn! I was so screwed if he talked to someone. Maybe I just needed to come clean to Dickie. If I admitted what happened, then maybe he wouldn't be as mad.

"MeeMaw!" Tommy's voice broke my thoughts. I hadn't realized I'd gotten to my parent's house nor had I realized that my mom and grandma were standing at the door waiting for us. How long had I sat there? Letting out a heavy sigh, I climbed out of Lula's car and then helped Tommy out. The second his feet touched down on the ground, he was off running up the walkway. "Where Paw Paw? I show him my treasure."

My mom hugged Tommy and then looked at his dirty face and clothes. I knew a lecture was coming my way. My mother believed cleanliness was next to godliness. With a clipped tone, my mom answered Tommy's question. "He's in the living room watching TV. Why don't you go say hello and then your mom can take you upstairs to clean up."

Tommy ran inside yelling for my dad and my mom turned her gaze to me. "Honestly, Stephanie! You're the first lady of our state and you're out looking like a commoner and your son looks like a street rat." I held up my hand to stop her tirade before she got downright hateful. My grandma smiled at me and gave me a hug.

"Don't listen to my daughter, baby girl. You look fine and your son looks like he's been out having fun. There's nothing wrong with that." I smiled as she patted my cheek and went back into the house. My mom still stood out on the porch with me with a sour look on her face.

"Please just drop it mom. Tommy and I were at the park and we were playing. I'm dressed down so I wouldn't draw attention. I wanted an afternoon out as a normal person." I pushed by her and walked into my childhood home hoping that what I said would pacify her. I was wrong.

"You're not a normal person, Stephanie. You're the Governor's wife and you need to start acting like it. What would your husband think about you being out like this, unprotected and looking so…." Her words trailed off and my anger skyrocketed.

"So, what? So ugly? So normal? So poor?" My mother just rolled her eyes at my anger.

"Calm down. I just mean you need to step out in public and look the part of the Governor's wife." She turned toward the kitchen and yelled over her shoulder. "Is Richard joining us for dinner?"

"No, mom. He's got a state to run." My mother disappeared into her domain and muttered under my breath. "Not that I'd want him here anyway." My dad appeared at my side out of nowhere and kissed my temple.

"Don't let her get to you. You look beautiful as always. Thank you for bringing Tommy over to see me. It's been too long." My dad always knew what to say to make me smile.

"I know, daddy. I'm sorry it's been so long. We've been busy with everything that's happened." He smiled and kissed me again.

"I understand. Now tell me why you don't want your husband here." He looked at me with calculating eyes that always made me spill my guts when I was younger. I always called my dad my human truth serum. I never could sneak something past him.

"It's no big deal. I just wanted a night away from the guards and the pressure. Dickie doesn't know I'm here and will probably be pissed that I left with out TJ and Trevor." Dad looked at me and furrowed his brow.

"Tell him to get over it. You're entitled to a night away from all that garbage. You were our daughter first and sometimes you need to go back to your roots. If he has a problem, he can come see me." I smiled at dad's words and gave him a fierce hug. When I pulled away, dad started laughing and nodded his head toward the living room. "Now, do you want to tell me why my grandson is calling a petrified dog turd his treasure?"

My face paled and I ran into the living room. Sure enough sitting on Tommy's lap was a turd. He probably found it while I was distracted watching sexy man run by me. I walked to my son and squatted down in front of him. "Baby, can I take your treasure? I'm going to put it somewhere safe so you don't lose it." Tommy nodded and I grabbed a kleenex and picked up the turd. The things you do for your kids. Walking by my dad with the offending item in my hands, I stopped long enough to whisper, "Can you take him upstairs and wash his hands? Mom will have a coronary and bleach him if she hears about this." Dad laughed and nodded his head and I continued on my way out the door.

After tossing the turd into the street, I let out a sigh and sat down on my parent's front steps. It used to be my favorite spot to relax growing up and at that moment, I needed some time to relax. It had already been a hell of a day and I still had to get through dinner. I started to think going to my parent's house was a bad idea.

"Cupcake?" Oh hell. As if my day didn't already suck. I picked up my head out of my hands and looked at the familiar face in front of me and then to the big orange ball of fur that walked in front of him

I decided I needed to put the past behind me and at least attempt to be civil to the man. After all, we were friends at one point in time. "Morelli. How are you doing?"

His smile still could stop traffic and I couldn't help smiling back at him. "I'm good." Joe looked at the step beside me. "Can I join you?"

I shrugged and scooted over so he could sit beside me. We'd shared that same position many nights through our teen years. Joe Morelli was two years older than me and growing up was the neighborhood bad boy. He took me into his father's garage at age six and we played a very adult game of choo-choo and then when I was sixteen, he relieved me of my virginity on the floor of the bakery that I worked for after school. Between those two instances, we were friends. We even dated a few times in high school but always thought friends were better for us. I hadn't seen him for several years and the last time I saw him, it wasn't really a friendly parting. I bounced him off the hood of my dad's car. But, in my defense, he deserved it. After the night in the bakery, he wrote crude poems about me and then took off for basic training. I was so pissed.

Joe looked around at the empty street and then raised an eyebrow at me. "Where's your security? I expected there to be at least one agent out with you." I couldn't stop my eyes from rolling.

"I ditched them and took Tommy out to the park. I wanted a day away." I was expecting Joe to blow up so his calm words shocked me.

"Makes sense. I can see how living like you have to would get annoying." Joe looked over at me and bumped my shoulder with his. "You're looking good, Steph. I saw you on TV yesterday, but I think I like this look better."

"Thanks. This is who I am. I'm not the woman you saw on TV. Sometimes I need to just get away and be me." Joe nodded, slowly.

After several minutes of awkward silence, I decided to start up the conversation again. "So how have you been? I haven't seen you in years. Last mom said you were a detective with the police department?"

Joe smiled and nodded. "I've been a detective for three years and love it. I got married two years ago, but she recently decided my job was too much and started divorce proceedings." I hadn't heard about his marriage or about his divorce so I looked at him shocked. I felt bad for him. Joe was a great guy and I knew he just wanted to find the perfect woman.

"I'm sorry, Joe. I know how difficult divorce can be." Joe raised an eyebrow at me and I realized my mistake. As far as anyone knew, I was a happily married woman. "I mean, I heard Dickie talking about some divorce cases. I know how hard they can be from him."

Joe bought my cover and nodded. I let out a small sigh of relief. Before anything else could be said, the porch door slammed open and I got tackled from behind by a three-year old tornado. "Mommy. Mee Maw say dinner ready." I flipped Tommy over my shoulder and tickled him. When he calmed down, he looked at Joe and raised an eyebrow. "Who you be?"

Joe chuckled. "I'm Joe. You must be Tommy. Am I right?"

Tommy narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his hips. "My name is Thomas Francis Orr. You call me Thomas. Onry friends call me Tommy."

I was mortified at my young son. "Thomas Francis. Be nice. Joe is an old friend of mine." Tommy turned back to look at me and tears filled his baby blue eyes. I very rarely used his full name so when I did, he knew he was in trouble.

He sniffled back the tears and then turned back to Joe. "I sorry."

Joe smiled. "It's okay, little guy. I'm glad you're looking out for your mom. She's a special lady." I couldn't help of the blush hearing his words. I was a sucker for compliments. "Since you're being called for dinner, I will let you go. I need to get Bob back anyway." Joe stood up and walked down toward the road. I checked out his world-class butt as he walked away and decided that it was the second best one that I'd seen that day. Mysterious runner still held the top honor.

Before he turned and walked down the sidewalk, Joe turned back and smiled at me. "It was good to see you again Cupcake. Call me sometime and we can catch up. I've missed you." I smiled back. Joe and I were good as friends and I hoped that we could get back to that spot.

"I'll check my schedule. We can get some pizza." Joe smiled and waved once more before disappearing down the sidewalk. Tommy was watching me curiously so I scooped him up and blew on his stomach making him giggle.

"You ready for dinner?" At his nod, I sat him down and followed him back into my parent's house.

Dinner surprisingly went off without a hitch and without too many snide comments from my mom but I wasn't so lucky after the food was gone. I knew the second my phone rang, that I was in trouble. It was Dickie's ring tone and I knew he must have found out that I skipped the guards. I excused myself from the table and went out the back door to answer the call. "Hello, Dickie. I was just…"

He didn't even let me finish talking before he erupted in an angry tirade. "God DAMN it, Stephanie. What the hell were you thinking taking MY son away from the mansion without your guards. Are you really that fucking stupid? Do you realize how dangerous it is out there for you and him? You will tell me where you are, right now, so I can send the guys to you."

Letting out a sigh, I rolled my neck to release the tension and told him exactly what he wanted to hear. "We're at my parent's house but don't worry about sending the guards. We're getting ready to leave and will be back there soon."

I could hear Dickie fuming on the other end of the call. "Get. Home. NOW. Put the kid to bed and then come find me in my room. You and I will talk about this later." The call disconnected so I guessed he'd hung up. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and went back inside to get Tommy.

He cried when he said goodbye to my dad. Dad promised him that he'd come to take him fishing sometime the next week. I thought that would be fine. Trevor might appreciate a day away from the mansion. My dad made me promise to call him if Dickie's anger got too out of control. I promised but knew I'd probably break that promise. There were some things that I didn't want my family to know. Dickie's treatment towards me was one of those things.

On the drive back to the mansion, Tommy promptly passed out from his busy day and I enjoyed the peaceful drive back to Princeton. Driving always had a calming effect on me. Whenever I got stressed, I got in my car and drove. I usually cranked up the music and sang at the top of my lungs, but couldn't do that with Tommy sleeping in the back seat so I just enjoyed the quietness of the passing scenery.

Pulling up into the mansions driveway, I felt a sense of unease wash over me. I wasn't looking forward to Dickie's wrath, but I guessed I deserved it in a way. I put my son in danger by leaving without guards. I could have lost him and I deserved whatever punishment Dickie handed out. That was mistake I wouldn't make again regardless of what my husband did. I was scared straight earlier that day.

The mansion was surprisingly quiet when I walked in the back door. TJ and Trevor both looked up from their posts and gave me a sad, small smile. Lula was waiting just inside the back door and told me that she'd take care of getting Tommy cleaned up and into bed. She also informed me that Dickie was waiting for me in his private office next to his bedroom. I figured he had a woman in his room so that was the reason he wanted to meet in the office. Usually, he never used it.

I didn't bother knocking when I got up to his office. He was expecting me after all so I just walked in and sat down in the chair across from his big desk. Dickie was looking at some papers in front of him and ignored me for several minutes. Getting frustrated, I decided to break the silence. "If you're going to ignore me then I'm going to go to bed. I thought you wanted to talk to me so that's why I'm here."

Dickie picked up his head and I saw for the first time the haunted look in his eyes. It stole my breath away. I then looked at the papers that were spread on his desk and saw that some had pictures attached to them. Standing up, I walked around his desk to see what they were and almost lost my dinner.

There were five pictures. Three of me and two of Tommy. Each one was taken while we were out in public. Trevor and TJ were visible in each picture so whoever took them got close enough to us with our guards by our side. The thing that made me almost lose my food was the bullseye drawn on each picture right between our eyes. "Dic…Dickie. What's going on?" My words stuttered out, but I couldn't hold back the fear. He pointed at the letters attached to the pictures and I picked each one up and read them. Each one making me feel sicker and sicker.

They all held the same message. If Dickie didn't follow the rules, Tommy and I were dead. I didn't feel the tears fill my eyes, but their warm wetness running down my cheeks was hard to ignore. "Whe…." I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. "When did this start? How long have Tommy and I been targets and why haven't you told me?"

Dickie looked sick. "I got the first letter right after I became Governor. The other's came over the last few days. I don't know who sent them and I don't know what rules I'm supposed to follow."

I was beyond pissed. I'd been walking around with a target on my head along with my son for weeks. "Why didn't you tell me, Dickie? Have you told anyone?"

"No one knows and no one is going to know! You will keep your mouth shut about this, Stephanie. Telling people is only going to piss whoever this is off. I'll handle it, just leave it alone." I shook my head and was quickly reaching rhino mode.

"Absolutely not! We're telling the secret service or I'm calling someone to look into this. You're playing with the life of our son. I will NOT stand by why you pretend this shit doesn't exist. I will not…" Dickie stood up and slapped me hard across the face.

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing and I wouldn't put you or Tommy in danger. I just need some time to figure this out. I need time to fix this. You will NOT call anyone or I will make you regret it." Dickie grabbed my chin between his fingers roughly and turned my eyes to his. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" The grip on my chin was painful and I knew I'd have a bruise the next day. "Say it, Stephanie. Say you understand and that you won't call anyone."

Tears streamed down my face as the words stuttered out. "I understand. I won't call anyone, yet but I want to know if you get another one. I want you to tell me if any other threats come. Will you do that?" Dickie nodded but I saw his jaw flex as he clenched his teeth together. That was his tell that he was lying. I knew he wasn't going to tell me if he got another.

Dickie finally released my jaw after giving me a hard few shakes. I watched him gather up the notes and pictures and then put them in a file. Dickie turned back to face me after putting the file in his safe. "Go to bed, Stephanie. Forget about the letters and act like nothing happened. I'll take care of it." When I didn't respond, Dickie let out a long sigh and walked over to where I stood. He took me into his arms, much like he'd done when we first started dating. I was still so shocked that I didn't realize what he was doing until after it was done. He bent his head, kissed me tenderly and he looked deep into my eyes. "Trust me. It will all be okay."

Nodding, I turned and walked out of his office, numbly. A million thoughts flooded my mind and my worst fears manifested themselves in the front of those thoughts. I made a detour and instead of going to my bedroom, I went to Tommy's. Kicking off my shoes and sweatshirt, I crawled into his bed and pulled him close. "I promise to not let anything happen to you, baby boy. I promise to protect you." I kissed his forehead and closed my eyes. I needed the comfort that night that only my son could give me.

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A/N - Please let me know what you thought. Your reviews are the only payment I get and I LOVE hearing from you guys.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **Not minen nor will they ever be. I just enjoy playing with them in my own sick and twisted world.

As promised, here is the next chapter. Thank you all so much for the reviews and fav/follows. You have no idea how much your words mean to me! :)

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**Chapter 6**

It had been a week since Dickie first showed me the pictures and I was a nervous mess the entire time. Fear like I had never experienced consumed every minute of my existence. When I was awake and in a crowd, I was constantly scanning the people around me, looking for anything that seemed 'off'. I hardly left the mansion and when I did, I made sure to take both TJ and Trevor with me. I didn't take Tommy out at all. He cried when I told him he couldn't go fishing with my dad, but there was no way I was going to put him at risk like that. I didn't know who was behind the threats and I didn't know if Dickie was following their rules. Everyone around me knew something was wrong with me, but I kept my promise to Dickie and didn't tell anyone.

I couldn't even escape the fear at night. Some of my once peaceful nights sleep were filled with terrible nightmares. In some of them, I was watching my funeral and had to see the devastation on my son's face as he said goodbye to me. In other dreams, Tommy was the one who was dead and it was me who had to say goodbye to him. Whatever dream or nightmare it was, I woke up the same way, covered in sweat and tears and trembling in fear.

Since I didn't know where the treats were coming from, I ignored most of my friends and even my family. Lula was the only one I let around us. Les called multiple times during that week, but I ignored his calls. He could always tell when something was wrong with me and I knew if he asked, I'd tell him everything. I wanted to tell him, but I'd made that stupid promise to my stupid husband and I didn't want to know what Dickie's punishment was for breaking that promise. Besides, even if I did tell Les what was going on, I still didn't have access to the pictures or the letters so it wasn't like he could really do anything to help. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place and was absolutely terrified. I honestly had no idea what to do.

That Saturday evening, Dickie and I had to attend a benefit at a hospital in Newark. They were trying to raise money for a new pediatric wing and asked that Dickie and I attend as their special guests. Since the hospital's owner was a supporter of my husband, I was sternly informed that we were attending no matter what. Dickie even suggested that we take Tommy since the new wing was for children. I tried to object, but no matter what I said he brushed it off. All three of us had to attend the benefit that night and nothing I said or did was going to stop that.

Dickie still hadn't told anyone about the threats so we went that night with our normal security detail. Lula accompanied me as my guest so she could take care of Tommy if I got busy smoozing with the millionaire of our state. After all, that was the reason Dickie insisted that I go. I had to get the checkbooks open.

On the drive to the hospital, Dickie read over some reports in the back of the limo as I stared at the passing scenery. Tommy was safely buckled into his seat beside me and kept pulling at the bow tie that he had to wear. "Stop pulling at that or you're going to screw it up." Dickie's voice was mean as he glared at Tommy.

I sent Dickie a look that told him to shut up, but he just snorted and went back to his report. "Here, baby, let me loosen it a bit for you." I reached over and adjusted the tie so it sat a little looser around Tommy's neck.

"Oh sure, baby him some more Stephanie. As if he's not already a spoiled brat." Dickie didn't even bother looking up as he spoke. He'd never been that mean in front of our child before so I was a little shocked at the hatred behind his words. "You need to pop the tit out of his mouth so he can start to grow up. It's disgusting how you coddle him."

I was beyond rhino mode and was about to say something when the car stopped. We heard doors shutting so I assumed we were at our destination. Dickie tossed the file into an empty seat and glared at me. "You have one job tonight. Smile, laugh, flirt, and be congenial to the guests. Phil Roger's is counting on you to open the checkbooks for him. If we raise enough tonight, he even said he'd name the wing after me." I couldn't stop my eyes from rolling. Dickie caught it and growled. "Fuck this up and there will be hell to pay. Got it?"

Tommy looked like he was going to say something, but I patted his leg to hopefully keep him quiet. Luckily it worked and he just reached for my hand. Dickie glared at us both and then moved to the door. Plastering on a smile, he waited for the agents outside to open it before getting out. I got Tommy unbuckled and kissed his head and whispered against his skin, "No matter what baby, know that I love you."

That evening passed in a blur fake laughter and faked interest. I did what I was told and sweet talked the millionaires out of their money. It didn't take much work on my part because it truly was for a good cause and most of the people there were already planning on donating. I just made sure they gave a little more.

Unfortunately for me, Jameson Butler the third and the fourth were there so I got pulled into their crowd to talk about the shelter. Since I hadn't left the mansion, I didn't have a whole lot of information for them. The scowl on Dickie's face told me that I would pay for that later. He wasn't happy that I'd neglected my duties.

Half-way through the night, Dickie disappeared. His agents were standing outside a closed office door down a dark hallway, so I assumed he was talking business with someone so I put it out of my mind. It wasn't until I saw him walk out of the office with a tall blonde that I knew exactly what he'd been doing. While I was out mingling with people who I didn't really like, he was banging some woman in someone's office. Luckily for him, no one else noticed the couples grand reentrance to the party except me.

The party lasted well past midnight and I'd sent Tommy home with Lula hours before Dickie and I finally left. We were alone in the limo and on our way back to the mansion when Dickie decided to talk to me. "You did good tonight. Roger's said that you helped raise enough to not only build the new wing, but also fully equip the new NICU. He was impressed with your skills."

All I could do was roll my eyes and turn my head out the window. I didn't feel like talking to him that night. The sight of him walking out of the office with the blond got burned into my memory and that was all I saw. I knew ignoring him was a surefire way to make him angry, but I didn't care. I was beyond pissed myself.

"What's the matter, Stephanie? Are you mad at me about something? Did something I do offend you?" His voice was mocking and I could almost see the sneer on his face. "Let me guess, you noticed me with Heidi. I don't know what you're so mad about. If you acted like my wife then I wouldn't have to get my rocks off with other women."

I slowly turned my gaze to the man sitting beside me. "How dare you. I acted like your wife right up until you screwed that skank on our table so you have no one to blame but yourself for my disinterest in getting your rocks off. I honestly don't care who you fuck, I just wish you'd do it in private. A black tie dinner where you're the guest of honor isn't the place to fuck your whores."

Dickie scoffed. "Well, I can't bring them to the mansion so I had to settle for the office. I hadn't seen Heidi in a while and she can sure do magical things with her mouth." I knew he was trying to goad me, and I usually ignored him and that night was no different. Dickie, however, was sporting for a fight so he continued.

"What's the problem with the Butler project. Jameson was slightly disappointed that you hadn't made a move on that yet. I don't ask much from you, Stephanie, so when I put you in charge of a project like that, I expect it to get done. You will not disappoint me or the Butler's again. Do I make myself clear?" I kept my head turned away and nodded. Dickie grabbed my chin roughly and jerked my face to meet his. "Fucking, look at me when I'm talking to you. You will not disrespect me like this." I could see the fire in his eyes. "I can destroy you and your entire family, Stephanie. I can take your son away from you and make sure you never see him again. You'd be smart to remember those this. All I'm asking is for a little respect. Not much, just a little. Do you think you can fucking handle that?"

Dickie's grip on my chin was bruising causing my eyes to fill with tears. I nodded but when his grip tightened, I knew he wanted me to talk. "I understand, Dickie. I'm sorry for disrespecting you."

He glared and then released my chin. "Now that you're talking, tell me why you haven't done anything with the shelter."

I brushed the tears away and let out a sigh. "I'm scared to leave the mansion after seeing those pictures. I hate being terrified and hiding like this, but I also don't want to die."

Dickie rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ, Steph, they're just meant to scare you. No one is going to kill you or Tommy. Stop being such a scaredy cat and do your job." The lack of compassion in his words was not lost on me. I knew he would never understand, so I just dropped it. I would do my best to get out in public the next week. After all, I had a job to do.

**Ranger's POV**

It had been almost two weeks since I rescued the woman from the park and I still couldn't get her out of my mind. I saw her eyes staring at me when I tried to sleep and heard her voice in my dreams. I looked for her every day for those two weeks and still hadn't found out who she was. When I ran the license plate number, it came back as belonging to a woman named Tallulah Gibson. The big-boned black woman was not the person I saw driving that car and none of her known associates matched the woman either. I'd hit a brick wall with finding out her identity and, frankly, it pissed me off. It became a compulsion of mine to find her and it was frustrating that I couldn't do it. I owned a security company for Christ sakes and I couldn't find one little white woman from Trenton New Jersey.

The other thing that pissed me off was that I couldn't figure out what it was about her that drew me to her. Sure, she was gorgeous, but I'd seen lots of gorgeous women; and actually, if you would have asked any one of my friends then they would have told you that she was nowhere near my normal type. The normal woman I was attracted to were tall, blond with big boobs and no personality. The tiny slip of a woman I saw at the park that day was, yes, tall, but she had a mop of brown curls and her breasts were nowhere near what I usually go for. But, still, I found myself thinking about her almost every day. The feelings that surged through my body when we touched were too intense to just ignore or brush off. I vowed to find her and find her I eventually would. I had some other avenue's to try before I officially gave up.

But, that search was going to have to wait. I got an emergency call from DC and was asked to go meet with the secret service. Apparently the big dogs needed my little old help finding some psycho harassing some higher up in the political game. My handler couldn't give me specifics, and just requested I report to the Governor's Mansion in Princeton. I assumed that some little aide was being harassed and the agents didn't want to waste the time or energy finding out who it was so they called me in. The amount of money they were willing to pay me was astronomical, so I wasn't going to argue. I'd go meet with them and then put my best investigators on the case. We'd solve it before the secret service even knew what hit them.

Walking out of my office, dressed in my swat black and wearing my 'don't fuck with me face', I passed Tank and Lester having an intense conversation. They both looked at me and smiled. "Hey boss, where you off to?" The agents asked me to keep this meeting quiet until I had all the information so I just glared at both of my men. Tank got the message. "Can't say, huh? Must be important."

"Probably. I want everyone waiting in the conference room when I get back so we can go over this shit. I'll call when I'm on my way back here." After getting Tank's nod in agreement, I continued to the stairwell and on to my car.

My drive to Princeton was peaceful. I had a driving zone that I was always able to retreat to whenever I drove so it didn't take me anytime at all to get to the mansion. The agents at the front gate checked my id's and ran the dog around my car along with the mirror to check for bombs under the vehicle. Why anyone would purposefully blow up a Porsche 911 Turbo is beyond me, but I guess the agents were just being cautious. Who could blame them. They were protecting the most powerful man in the state.

I hadn't had the time to do any research on the newest Governor. I knew his name, Richard Orr and new some basic information about him. I'd seen him on TV once and read some articles in the paper about him. One of the articles I saw during the campaign showed him with his young wife and son. They appeared to be a happy family and I was glad that he looked at least somewhat smart. We needed an intelligent man running our state. I hoped he had the balls to make tough calls.

Pulling up in front of the house, I parked and was greeted by two agents who looked like they meant business. They were young and had their don't fuck with me faces on, but they didn't scare me. I could kick both of their asses before the young kids even knew what hit them. But I didn't do that. I let them search me and showed them my id's so I could keep my weapons. The older of the two scowled when he read my clearance level. I guess it was higher than his. "Mr. Manoso, it's good to finally meet you. I've heard good things about you and your company. My name is TJ and the gentleman behind you is Trevor. We will be your escorts while you're in the residence." I nodded as they handed me back my weapons and ID. They didn't look happy, but I didn't care.

They led me through the house and into an upstairs conference room that was swarming with more agents and a frazzled looking woman who looked to be about twenty-three years old. She was cute, so I assumed she was the target. The room fell silent when I walked in. An older man in a dark black suite with an ear piece approached me and offered me his hand. "Mr. Manoso, I'm Agent Black. I'm the lead agent in charge of security here. Thank you for coming on such short notice. When the FBI suggested your company, I was frankly confused, but after doing some research I can see why they told me to use you. You're company is fast and discrete and that is exactly what we need."

I nodded and he continued. "What you learn today is not to be shared with anyone out side of this room." I held my hand up to interrupt him.

"I have a team of men that I trust implicitly. They all have the same clearance level I do and will assist me on this case. The FBI should have explained that to you." I left no room for negotiations in my tone of voice.

Agent Black looked a little put off as his jaw muscle worked but I knew the FBI had told him exactly what I did. He may not like it, but it was how I worked. "I'll need a list of every man involved with name and their clearance ID's. What you learn here today is to be kept confidential at all costs. Is that clear?" I was slightly confused but nodded my head anyway. "Good. Take a seat and we'll get started very soon."

I took an empty seat at the end of the table with my back to the wall and watched the people around me. Everyone was talking back and forth and there was an urgency in the air that confused me. I felt a tingle at the base of my neck and wondered what it meant but didn't give it much thought after the door in the opposite corner of the room opened and in walked the very young Governor. He looked frazzled and I soon realized the case was bigger than I originally suspected. The room quieted as the Governor approached his seat and cleared his throat. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I'm happy to hear that we have representatives from the secret service, the FBI and even a private security company." The governors eyes fell on me but didn't linger long. Smart man. "The reason you all are here is simple. Someone is threatening me and I want them found."

The Governor nodded to the young woman who handed us all a folder. Inside was a picture of the governor with a gorgeous blond. They were both dressed formally and were standing awfully close. Drawn on their heads was a red bullseye. On the back of the picture read, "I guess the threats to your family weren't enough. How about we take out your girlfriend instead. Or maybe we'll just aim for you. Follow the rules and this all goes away." I looked in the folder but didn't see any more pictures so I wasn't sure about the threats to his family.

After everyone got finished looking at the picture, the room erupted into chaos. The secret service agents that had escorted me into the room were glaring at the Governor with cold stares and the senior agents were talking about upping security. I sat back and watched everything trying to get a feel for the room. There was something off, I just couldn't put my finger on it.

While everyone was shouting and arguing in the conference room, I loud arguing from the hallway. The tone was female and for some reason I thought I'd heard that voice before but it was too far away for me to really get a good listen. My neck started tingling and my pulse quickened and the second the door opened, I knew why.

There she was. The woman from the park only this time she was impeccably dressed in wool pants and a tight jacket that fit her perfectly. Her hair was styled and her make-up flawless. Her eyes though, were different. Instead of the crystal blue pools I remembered, they were blazing with fire and anger and directed right at the Governor. "You son of a bitch. You got another threat and didn't tell me." The Governor looked nervous and then looked at the room.

"Everyone out." The woman's voice dropped to an icy level that made my blood turn cold.

"No. Everyone stays. They need to hear the **whole** truth, Dickie. Where. Is. The. Picture?" One of the agents assigned to me stepped forward with his folder.

"Here Steph." She looked at him and then pulled the picture out. Her eyes flared again and she turned to the Governor again.

"So you finally decided to call for help, huh? After you and your whore were the one's with the bullseye on your head. It didn't matter that you've gotten how many pictures threatening Tommy and I? I'm your wife and he's your son and you didn't care enough about us to tell anyone." My beast surged to life hearing this little woman confront her husband. What kind of man ignored a threat against his wife and child?

"I told you to stay out of this. I'm handling it." The woman shook her head at the Governor's words.

"No, I gave you two weeks to handle it and you've ignored it so I'm stepping in. I want you to show the agents EVERY god damn picture that you've gotten. They need to know the entire time line if they're going to catch the person responsible." The Governor glared at his wife for several seconds and I could see the muscle in his jaw working. He was pissed at her, but she was right. We did need to see it all.

After several minutes of stunned silence, the Governor nodded to the younger woman who hurried out of the conference room. She came back several minutes later holding a stack of photos. One by one, the pictures got passed around the table. When they got to me, my blood began to boil and my beast got antsy. There were ten pictures total and each one either showed the Governor's wife or his son with a bullseye painted on their heads. One of the pictures was even from the day they were in the park. I realized, then, how much danger she and her son were in that day.

When Stephanie got the pictures, I watched her closely as she looked at them. Her eyes got wide each time a new one got handed to her. After she had the last one in her hands, I noticed they were trembling but I didn't now if it was from fear or anger. "You got more and didn't tell me. I've lived the past week under the false impression that they'd stopped. I've walked around town with a bullseye on my head and you haven't had the decency to tell me." Her voice got louder with each sentence and I decided then that the Governor wasn't as smart as I had originally thought.

"We're not doing this now. We're going to brief the agents and other people on what's going on and then you and I will discuss this in private." The Governor's voice left no room for arguments and his wife knew it. She took a seat against the wall and crossed her arms.

She had yet to take her eyes off her husband but she kept reaching up and scratching the back of her neck. It was the same thing I wanted to do, but was able to control myself better. I wondered if she had the same tingling sensation I did.

I listened to the Governor talk, but my eyes remained on his wife. She must have sensed me watching her because she slowly turned her head and her eyes met mine. I saw the look of shock fill her face and then she blushed before turning away quickly. I had to smirk because she looked so damn cute. I caught her trying to sneak glances my way throughout the rest of the meeting.

When the meeting was over, the Governor approached me and offered me his hand. "I've read a lot of good things about your company. I was against bringing you in, but the feds guaranteed me that you'll be discrete. Do I have your word on that? I'd hate for news about my, um, affairs getting out. I have a state to run." I lost the little respect I had for the man at that instant. He wasn't worried about his wife or his son. He was only worried about himself.

"The guys I have working for me know to keep their mouths shut. This won't get out because of us." The Governor looked at me and nodded before turning back to talk to some feds.

I gathered up all the information given to me and was ready to go, but I didn't leave. Something told me that I needed to stay a little longer. Stephanie was making her way towards me and was just about to me when the door opened again and the big-boned black woman I knew as Tallulah Gibson walked in holding Tommy. "Steph, T-man had a nightmare and needs you."

Stephanie stopped walking towards me and turned immediately to take her son. I watched as she whispered into his ear and saw his tear-stained face brighten slightly. He looked at his mom and nodded before laying his head back down on her shoulder. He was looking right at me and I had to smile. His eyes flashed with recognition and he picked up his head. "Mommy, it's Batman!"

The little boy started to squirm from his mom's arms and she eventually put him down and then turned back to the other woman. The little boy ran over to me with a smile on his face. "What you do here?"

I couldn't hold back the smile as I squatted down in front of him. "I'm here to help your mommy and daddy." He looked at me thoughtfully for a few beats.

"Otay, you help mommy. I tust you." Those three words melted my heart. He didn't even know me, yet he was so willing to trust.

"Tommy, leave the gentlemen alone. I'm sure he has work to do." I looked up to see Stephanie standing behind her son and smiling at me.

"It's okay, Mrs. Orr. He wasn't bothering me." I caught her shudder when I called her by her formal name.

"Please call me Stephanie or Steph. I don't think I caught your name." Standing up, I smiled at her and watched her eyes glaze over.

"You can call me Ranger." Tommy furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.

"No, you Batman." His tone was so final that I had to chuckle.

"Whatever you say, little man." I ruffled his hair much like I did that day in the park and then turned back to his mother. She looked nervous and scared, but I knew it wasn't because of me. Even though I knew I shouldn't, I reached my hand out and cupped her face with my palm. Electricity surged through me and I could tell by her look that she felt it too.

"We'll find this guy, Babe. You won't have to be scared for long." I kept my voice a whisper so only she could hear me and saw her visibly relax at my words.

She was about to respond when the Governor's voice bellowed from the doorway. "Stephanie, grab the kid and come on. You and I have things to discuss." My heart broke for her when I saw the defeated look on her face. It was a look I'd seen before and knew what it meant.

Stephanie scooped down and picked up Tommy who didn't look any happier about having to go with his father than she did. Before she walked away, I pulled out one of my business cards and held it out for her. "Call me, day or night, if you ever need anything."

Giving me a small, sad smile, she took the card and tucked it in her pocket. "Thank you Ranger." She gave me one last look before turning and following her waiting husband out the door. As I watched her go, I made a vow to find and eliminate the person responsible for the threats. I didn't know why, but something inside of me told me that I had to do everything I could to protect Stephanie and Tommy and I promised to do just that.

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A/N - There ya have it. Ranger knows who she is now and in the next chapter he'll learn who she is to Les. : )


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Characters that you recognize don't belong to me. Although I'd love to take Ranger off JE's hands. She's not using him to his full potential anyway. : )

I can not tell you how much your reviews mean to me. I am blow away at the response to this story! Thank you all so much! And now...on with the show.

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**Chapter 7**

**Still Ranger's POV**

Driving back to the office, I called Tank right before hitting Trenton. I wanted the team assembled and waiting. That case took top priority and I wanted the guys working on it sooner rather than later. With the call made, I finished my drive but was unable to find my zone. Thoughts of Stephanie kept invading my mind.

Finding out she was married didn't squash the attraction I felt toward her like it should have. I despised people who cheated on their spouses because that's what happened to me. Even though I only married Rachel because of Julie, I still expected her to be faithful to me like I was to her. I wanted to make our marriage work for Julie's sake, but after a long mission in Iraq, I found my wife in bed with my commanding officer. Needless to say, that marriage ended rather quickly after that. I still supported my daughter, but I refuse to even talk to her mother.

The first thing I do when I meet a woman is look at her left hand. If there's a ring or even a tan line where a ring used to be, I walk away before taking another look. I refused to be the guy that slept with a married woman. I never wanted another man going through the pain and embarrassment that I did. That's why my feelings for Stephanie confused and slightly angered me.

Maybe it was because her husband was a world-class douche bag or maybe it was because I knew he was abusing her. Whatever the reason, my former thoughts about sleeping with married women vanished. I wanted her. There was no arguing that fact. I wanted more than I've ever wanted someone. But I didn't just want to sleep with her and I guess that was the part that scared me. I wanted more.

I wanted to get to know her, to meet her parents. I wanted to spend time with her and her son. I wanted to take them places and show them things that they'd never seen. I wanted to introduce them to my family and I wanted to spend every day with both of them. Those were scary thoughts considering I'd only officially known her and Tommy about an hour.

Pulling into the underground garage of my building, I had to push the thoughts of Stephanie out of my mind. I had a job to do and I was sure as hell going to do it. There was too much at stake for me to slack off and get distracted. I had a weird feeling that my entire future rested on this one case. Saving Stephanie and Tommy meant saving my life too. It was a strange feeling to have and one that I didn't want to examine too closely right then.

Like promised, Tank had the team assembled in the conference room so I was able to start the meeting without having to wait. The second I stepped into the room, all of the guys stopped talking and turned their attention towards me. It was good being the boss. Without wasting time, I got right down to business.

"First and foremost I need the clearance ID's of every man in this room. Once this meeting is over, you can email me a copy of your card or just send me the number. Either way, I need those ASAP. We've been called in to help with a big case and the secret service wants it kept hush-hush. What you're going to learn today is to be kept strictly confidential. If ANYTHING gets leaked out of this office, the offender will be fired immediately and then the real punishment will begin. Any questions so far?" The guys all had on their blank faces and since no one spoke up with a question, I continued as I tossed the folder of pictures in the middle of the table.

"Deadly threats have been made to the Governor and his family. He received pictures targeting his wife and son weeks ago, but failed to tell anyone…." Lester's voice interrupted before I could finish talking.

"MOTHER FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" Everyone, including me, looked to Lester who was glaring at a picture of Stephanie and Tommy with bulls eyes on their heads. Suddenly, he jumped out of his seat and ran out of the room. I raised an eye brow at Tank who just shrugged. I didn't like my meetings being interrupted but I didn't want to continue without Lester. He was good at sniffing out information and I wanted him there.

I waited a few minutes to see if he'd be back and then got tired of waiting. "You guys look over the pictures and see if you can get anything. I'm going to see what flew up Santos' ass." Everyone grumbled and reached for a picture as I walked out of the conference room to find my cousin.

When I didn't see him on the command floor, I headed to his office and found him talking on his cell phone. His voice was quiet, but I picked up the end of his conversation. "….are you sure, Beautiful? I won't tell them anything that won't help us find the person responsible." He paused and let out a sigh. "Okay, stay safe and I'll call you once the meeting is over. Bye, Beautiful."

I didn't even attempt to hide the anger from my voice when I spoke. "Leaving an important meeting to talk to your girlfriend is a sure-fire way to get fired, family or not. Care to explain?" Les turned around quickly and l saw the fear in his face before his blank mask slammed back down.

His face was hard as he spoke. "I'm sorry, but that call was important and is pertinent to our case." I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow. He knew to continue. "I know the Governor's wife and I wanted to make sure she was okay." My heart stuttered in my chest. I wondered how he knew her but, luckily, didn't have to wait long for an explanation. "I met Stephanie Plum in college and we became fast friends but nothing more. She married the Dick right after our sophomore year, even though I told her not to. You and I left for basic training at that same time and I pushed her out of my mind." Fear flooded me because I had a feeling I knew where his story was going and I didn't want to think about that. "After the mission in Turkey…." Les paused and looked away.

I remembered what happened on that mission. Les lost one of his best friends and a piece of himself during that mission. He and I had to come back to the states and tell a very young woman with a two-year old that her husband died because of a careless mistake. One of the new guys got cocky while on patrol with Trent, Les' friend and our squad mate, and wasn't paying attention to where he was walking. He stepped on a land mine and blew both of them to pieces before we could do anything. There was nothing left for a funeral so his wife had to bury an empty box. Les was understandably distraught and disappeared for a while after coming bacK.

"After Turkey, I needed someone familiar to talk to. Someone to make me laugh so I looked Stephanie up. She was miserably married and we ended up in bed together." Les turned back to me with sadness in his eyes. "I know how you feel about men who sleep with married women, but if you knew her husband you would understand. Trust me."

I was right. I didn't want to know their history because all it did was make me unbelievably jealous. My cousin had what I wanted and I was angry at him for that. I only had one question, even though I already knew the answer. "Is it still happening?"

Les nodded. "We see each other when one of us needs…..a night of release. I'm the only guy she sleeps with but she knows I have other women too. We both know where the other stands on what we're doing, so it's easy." He shrugged and I wanted to pound his face in. He was just using her for an easy lay.

He must have read my thoughts because he continued to explain himself. "Don't get me wrong, Ric, I love Stephanie. She's probably my best friend and I care about her and her son deeply, but she and I both know that what we're doing now is all we're ever going to have. Even if I was LOOKING for a relationship, she's married to an asshole and has a kid. As much as I love her, I'm not ready for a built-in family and she understands that." His confession made me feel a little better about the situation.

Deciding I needed to change the subject from their sex life, I uncrossed my arms and leaned back against his desk. "What can you tell me about the husband?"

Les' expression darkened and I knew that what he had to tell me was probably going to piss me off more. "Let's go back to the conference room. Stephanie gave me permission to tell you guys everything but I only want to do it once." I nodded and started to walk out his office door, but I stopped before stepping out into the hallway.

"How much about your relationship with her are you going to share?" I honestly didn't want the guys thinking she was easy or a whore, not that it mattered to the case. I just knew that if I heard any of them talking about her in a bad way then I would probably kick their ass.

"I'll tell them that we are friends who met in college. They don't need to know the entire story. Stephanie is sensitive about who knows what about her business. She'd be embarrassed if she knew the guys knew **everything**. It's not pertinent to the case so I don't think it needs shared." Les stated, matter of fact. Nodding in agreement, I walked out of his office and back into the conference room where the rest of the guys were intently looking over the pictures. Les followed me in and took his seat as I got back down to business.

I took my spot at the head of the table and sat down ready to hear something good. "Find anything?"

"There's not much. Since these are just copies of the originals pictures, there's not a whole lot to go on. I can tell that they suspect took the pictures with a high-powered zoom lens. The woman or the agents probably had no idea they were even being watched. The bullseye is a drawing that they placed on the film after developing the picture. Were there prints on anything?" Zip gave his assessment and then looked at me. He was an amateur photographer in his spare time so I trusted his thoughts on the pictures.

"The husband didn't tell anyone about the first pictures for weeks. It wasn't until **he** was the one threatened that he decided to pull in the FBI, secret service, and us. The feds are running the originals and they'll let us know what they find, but I doubt that it will be anything useful." The guys all nodded and turned back to the pictures.

"Which one is the wife? The brown-haired woman who is always alone with the kid or the blonde draped over the Governor?" Bobby asked looking back and forth between two sets of pictures. Les growled and I gave him a nod telling him he could give us his intel. I was slightly curious what he had to share.

"The brown-haired woman is the Governor's wife, Stephanie, and the little boy is their three-year old son Tommy. Stephanie and I met in college and have stayed friends throughout the years. Her husband, Dickie or Governor Orr is a real asshole. I don't know who the blonde is, but I'm guessing it's one of his many side pieces." The guys all growled and looked at Les who continued. "Richard Orr is the scum of the earth. He met and wooed Stephanie very quickly and since he was an attorney with a promising career, Stephanie's parent's pushed her to marry him so she did. She caught him cheating on her a month after the wedding and was poised to divorce him when she got a visit from his law partners." Les paused again and rubbed his hand over his face.

"To make a really long story short, the assholes blackmailed her. They threatened to destroy her and her family if she went through with the divorce. Stephanie has a big heart and she wasn't going to let her family suffer so she stayed with him and has been miserable ever since. She refuses to sleep with him because he has a parade of women in and out of his bed. Tommy was a complete accident and Stephanie still doesn't know how it happened because she was on birth control and she made Dickie wear a rubber, but Tommy's here and he is Stephanie's whole world." I sat back in my chair and clenched my fists. I wanted nothing more than to pound the weasel Governor into the ground. I couldn't imagine what Stephanie had gone through all of those years.

Les' eyes grew dark and I tried to prepare myself for the rest of the story. "Stephanie hasn't admitted it to me, but I suspect that Dickie abuses her physically. I've seen the bruises and marks on her but she claims she fell or bumped into something. She's told me that he is verbally and emotionally abusive to her so I don't see why he'd stop at physical. I'm not sure what he's done to Tommy, but I don't see Stephanie allowing any harm to come to him. She's very protective of her son and Dickie knows that so now he uses Tommy as his leverage to make Stephanie do what he wants. If she argues, or tries to leave him, he's threatened to take Tommy and make it so Stephanie will never see him again. Dickie's old law partners are ruthless and will do anything to protect the Governor. He's their golden child and they use him just like a damn puppet."

That sealed the Governor's fate. He was a dead man and I wasn't talking about the treats. I suspected that he abused her, but hearing that Les had seen bruises on her creamy skin made my beast come alive and then hearing that he used his own son as leverage only made me angrier. I must have growled because everyone in the room turned to look at me. "Who are his ex-partners?" My voice was cold. I wanted to know who else was on my death list.

"Wade, Carroll, Hunter and Hayes. They're based out of Newark but do a lot of work in New York and in Washington. Their firm covers every possible legal case imaginable but they're famous for their divorce and defense cases. You guys remember hearing about Antonio Vega, right?" All the guys nodded. I'd read articles about that case and it made me sick. Vega beat and almost killed his wife when she caught **him** cheating yet in the divorce proceedings, he got everything including full custody of their children. His wife was left with the hospital bills. The media had a field day with that case. I still don't know how that man got away with everything. "Vega was represented by Dickie's firm. They're ruthless and mean and now have the political backing to do whatever they want. They just defended Jameson Butler the fourth and got him cleared of all charges after he almost killed a prostitute."

The guys all groaned again. We were in line to pick up the Butler kid when we got word that the charges had been dropped. None of us could believe it because we saw the pictures of what he'd done to the young woman. I was starting to understand what Stephanie was up against and understood better why she stuck with her husband for so long. She honestly didn't have a choice.

"What do the notes mean? What rules is he supposed to follow?" Vince asked and I looked at Lester who just shrugged so I answered.

"If the Governor knows, then he's not sharing. Let's work up a list of possible enemies of his." Les scoffed so I raised my brow in question.

"During his short stint as Prosecuting Attorney, he put away multiple high level mob guys. He made it his personal vendetta to rid the streets of organized crime. He made a lot of enemies." My first thought after hearing that was, shit! I hated dealing with the mob. They're messy and careless and they don't care who they hurt as long as they got what they wanted.

"Okay, Les, Vince, Bobby and Cal…work on getting the list of possible enemies together. I want to know who all he put away. Hal, Zip, Zero and Junior…you guys find me all the information you can on the law firm. I want to know what each of his partners ate for breakfast. The rest of you put your ear to the ground. I want to know if anyone is talking about this and if so, who. Hector…" The ex-gang member looked at me with cold eyes. "…hacer lo tuyo." He smirked, before standing up and walking out of the room. He didn't speak english but he was damn good at his job. I simply told him to do his thing and knew he would get results.

After I'd given the last of the orders, the guys all nodded and started to head out of the conference room. I trusted each and every one of them to do the job quickly and effectively. They hadn't let me down before that, so I knew they wouldn't let me down then. Tank was the last one left in the room with me. Out of all the guys in the building, he and I were the closest. He saved my life on more than one occasion and I'd done the same for him. Bonds form when you save someone's life.

"You okay, man?" Tank knew me better than I knew myself and could read me better than anyone. Sighing I nodded my head.

"Yeah. I just can't believe this shit. What kind of man ignores threats against his wife and son? Makes me glad I didn't vote for the son of a bitch." Tank burst out laughing and nodded his head. We disagreed on many things, but our political stance was never one of them. I knew he didn't vote for the guy either.

"That makes two of us." He narrowed his eyes at me and I knew he was trying his hardest to get a read on me. "You seem a little close to this, Ric. There something you're not telling me?"

I sighed again and scrubbed my hand over my face. I could either lie or tell the truth. Lying would get me nowhere because Tank could smell my bullshit from a mile away, but I wasn't ready to admit the entire truth so I half-assed it. "I just hate seeing an innocent woman and child put in the middle of a mess like this. Her husband is playing a dangerous game with someone, and we need to figure out who."

Tank narrowed his eyes at me for a second before nodding. "We'll find them." I knew he was telling the truth because finding people is what we did. Tank watched me for a few more minutes before standing up. "I'm going to start making some calls."

I nodded to him and watched him walk out of the conference room. I gathered up my notes and files and headed back to my office. Someone needed to do some research on Stephanie Plum and since the rest of the guys were busy, I decided I would be the one in charge of checking her out. It was purely for information about the case. Sure…I didn't believe that then, but it sounded good so I went with it. Locking myself in my office, I fired up my computer and got down to work.

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A/N - Ranger knows everything and is on the case. Will he find who's responsible in time? : )


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **Not mine nor will they ever be.

As promised, here is the next chapter!

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**Chapter 8**

**SPOV**

I couldn't believe my god damn husband. He ignored the threats when they were directed toward me and our son but as soon as his neck was on the chopping block, then he decided to ask for help. What a fucking coward I married. I was so pissed when I heard from one of the agents that Dickie was having a meeting with the secret service, the FBI and a private security company. According to some of the female staff working in the mansion, the private contractor was drop dead gorgeous and they were plotting schemes so that they could ask for his help. I didn't care about the contractor, I only had thoughts about Dickie. True, they were murderous thoughts, but oh well.

Storming into the meeting was a bold move that I knew I'd pay for later, but I wanted to make sure Dickie told the agents everything. I could just see him leaving out certain important bits in his report and I refused to let that happen, so I crashed his meeting and it was a good thing I did. He hadn't planned on showing the group the pictures of Tommy and I. He was just going to ignore them much like he ignored me.

Seeing the rage in his eyes should have scared me, but it really didn't. I would take my punishment and then I would move on. Making sure Tommy and I were safe took priority and my little tirade in front of a room of complete strangers was necessary. I had make-up to cover the bruises and his words were starting not to hurt me as much. I knew I would survive his wrath.

When I sat down to listen to the rest of the meeting, I kept getting a weird tingly feeling on the back of my neck. I kept reaching up and scratching the skin, but it didn't help alleviate the sensation. I also felt like someone was watching me, but I was honestly used to that. TJ watched me all the time, but that day it felt different and then I found out why.

I slowly turned my head and met the eyes of my mysterious savior. The guy who'd saved me from my attacker in the park was sitting at the other end of the room...and he was looking at me. Visions of him running, shirtless, filled my mind which triggered my memories of the very naughty dreams I had about him after that day. I felt my face blush and turned away from his gaze quickly. I really didn't want him to see me drool. But I couldn't keep my eyes off of him and kept trying to sneak glances at him as Dickie talked. Each time I looked his way, his dark eyes were looking back at me and I didn't miss the small smirk on his handsome face.

After the meeting had finished, I tried to work my way over to talk to him, but unfortunately was stopped by Lula. Although, hearing Tommy's reaction to the stranger made me chuckle. Tommy talked about the 'real' Batman every night since that day in the park. Tommy didn't like or trust many strangers, but for some reason he did that man. But again, so did I. When he reached out and cupped my face….I almost died. I felt the electricity shoot straight to a much southern place and there was no way for me to deny the attraction. It was palpable.

Realization struck me like a lightening bolt when he told me his name. Ranger was Les' cousin, Ric. For some reason, I didn't let on that I knew an awful lot about him. He struck me as being a private person who wouldn't appreciate a complete stranger saying something like, "hey, I know all about you." I felt my stomach churn when I realized Les would probably be a little angry at me for not telling him about the pictures and I was sure Ranger was going to share the details of the case with his team. Les said they did everything together and I imagined threats to the Governor called for all hands on deck. I made a mental note to find my cell phone and keep it close because I knew I'd be hearing from Les before the night ended.

I can't tell you how good it felt when he handed me his card. Peace washed over me and I felt a little better knowing that I could call him anytime I needed him. Something about knowing he was there to protect me made me happier than I cared to admit. Walking away from him that day was the last thing I wanted to do, but my husband called so I went.

Luckily, Lula took Tommy back to his room. I heard him telling her all about how cool Batman was and I had to smile but that smile soon faded the second I stepped into Dickie's private office. His first slap came fast and snapped my head to the side. His voice was laced with hatred as he leaned in and spat his demeaning words at me. "You will NEVER again disrespect me like that in front of people. You made me look like a fool today."

I have no idea where my burst of bravery came from, but I turned my equally hard eyes back to him. "It wasn't that hard to make you look like a fool, Dickie." He slapped me again, harder this time.

"You will NOT disrespect me." His loud yell bounced off the walls in the large office. I started to get frightened because I'd never seen Dickie so angry. His eyes blazed with fire and his hands were balled into tight fists. "Your little stunt undermined my authority to properly run this state. Now the agents and the civilians think I'm a heartless moron. Did you think about the repercussions before you stormed into a private meeting?"

My hand was resting over my stinging cheek as he talked to me and I shook my head in response to his question. "No, you never think about anything but yourself. You're a spoiled little bitch and I don't know why I ever married you." Dickie stepped away from me and I was able to breathe. I didn't know I was holding my breath until he moved.

"Why don't you divorce me then." My voice was weak and shaky but I said it. I'd wanted to say it for years, but never had the balls. Dickie just turned around and smiled at me.

"Oh no, Stephanie. If I divorce you then I lose votes. The people who voted for me wouldn't like it if I divorced you and I know you'll never divorce me, so I'm afraid you're stuck with me just as much as I'm stuck with you." Tears filled my eyes. It really was hopeless. I really was going to be tied to him for the rest of my life. "Stop crying, it makes you look ugly."

I sniffed back the tears and pulled my hand off my face. Dickie turned his back towards me and pulled out a piece of paper from a folder. "Here is a list of our public appearances coming up. We WILL be making each and every one of these so prepare yourself now. I will not hide away like a coward." I took the paper and about fell over. There were around twenty different dates and times listed that took us all over the damn state. I started to say something, but Dickie held up his hand. "I said we WILL be going to each of these. I will not listen to you bitch and moan about it either. The first one is tomorrow so pack your shit. We'll leave tonight and stay at the hotel the fundraiser is at." I turned to walk away but Dickie reached out and grabbed my upper arm. "Tommy will be joining us too, so pack him some stuff."

"Can Lula come too? I know I won't be able to be around Tommy the whole time and he trusts her. I trust her too." Dickie glared at me and seemed to be really thinking about my request.

"Fine, but she's to stay in the suite. You or Trevor will take Tommy to and from the room. I don't like that you have an ex-hooker taking care of our son." I knew Lula would have a cow about having to stay in the suite, but hopefully she wouldn't be too mad. I didn't trust leaving Tommy with just anyone and Lula was one of the few.

"Thank you, Dickie. I'll go get us packed and we'll be ready to go soon. Are we taking extra security?" Dickie had the decency to look sheepish as he answered.

"I'll have extra agents assigned to me at all times, but you'll just have TJ and Tommy will just have Trevor." Disappointment and anger like I'd never felt before surged through me and I knew I had to get out of that office before I said something that would get me in a whole world of trouble. Giving Dickie an incredulous look, I spun on my heels and left him standing alone which was exactly what I should have done the day I married him.

After informing Lula about our trip, I got Tommy's things all packed up and had just started on mine when Les' ring tone filled my room. I let out a sigh because I knew exactly what was coming. "Hey Les." I didn't even try to hide the defeated tone from my voice.

"Beautiful, Ranger just got back to the office with the pictures. You want to tell me what's going on?" He sounded so hurt that tears filled my eyes and I sat down hard on the floor. I hadn't really let myself cry and hearing the pain in Les' words just broke me.

Between sobs, I actually got out words. "You've talked….to Ranger…..so you know….what's….going on."

"Please don't cry, Beautiful. I hate it when you're this sad. We're going to find whoever's responsible and we're going to make them pay." I heard Les sigh and then he asked a question that I wasn't prepared for. "What can I tell the guys about Dickie, Steph? The more they know the better we can help you. I promised you that I'd keep some things quiet, but I'm asking you to let me share everything."

I sat on the floor, still crying, thinking about Les' request. I knew he was telling me the truth. The more Ranger and the guys knew, the better they could help me but I hated that my weakness and my stupidity was going to be common knowledge between his friends. Ranger would know all about my sham of a marriage and my ongoing affair with his cousin. Sadness overwhelmed me thinking how differently Ranger might look at me after hearing what Les had to share with him, but if it meant that Tommy was protected, then I'd learn to deal with it. "Tell them everything. You know it all so they should too."

"I only want to do this if you're really okay with it, so I'm going to ask one time. Are you sure, Beautiful? I won't tell them anything that won't help us find the person responsible." I sniffed back some tears and nodded my head, but he couldn't see me so I gave him a whispered, "Yes, I'm sure."

Les sighed again and I heard the strain in his voice. He was really worried about Tommy and I. That knowledge only made me cry harder. "Okay, stay safe and I'll call you once the meeting is over. Bye, Beautiful." He hung up before I could say bye, but I was used to that with him. After I heard the beep of the call ending, I tossed my phoned on the bed and buried my head in my knees. I still had to pack, but at that moment, what I needed to do was cry.

Later that night, I was riding in the back of the limo with Dickie and Tommy when my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number and since Dickie was lost in a file, I decided to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey Beautiful, it's Les. I'm sitting in the conference room with Ranger and our coworker Tank. Are you able to talk?" My heart started beating uncontrollably when I heard Les voice, but I felt it calming when he mentioned Ranger was there too. I wondered how that man could do that to me. Dickie looked up and glared at me.

"Oh, hey mom. Dickie and I are just headed out of town. We've got a fundraiser tomorrow afternoon in Atlantic City, but we're headed there tonight. Is there something wrong?" Dickie rolled his eyes and went back to reading. I was thankful that he bought my lie.

Les chuckled and I had to admit that the sounds made me smile too. "Well, dear, nothing is wrong. The guys and I have been working on some things and we wanted to ask you a few questions, but since you're with the dick I guess they'll have to wait. Are you all fully protected on this outing?" I glanced at Dickie again. I needed to come up with a way to answer that question without letting on who I was talking to.

"I believe Dickie brought an extra coat, but I didn't grab one for Tommy and I. Dickie didn't think we'd need one." I said and smiled when Dickie didn't even bother looking up. From my phone, three deep growls sounded in my ear.

"That mother fucker has extra guards for himself but not for you and Tommy? What the fuck is wrong with him?" I could tell Les was more than just a little upset. So was I, for that matter, but what could I do?

"Lula is going with us, so I'm hoping that Tommy can just stay in the suite with her tomorrow during the fundraiser. I'd hate for him to get sick." Dickie looked up at me and narrowed his eyes.

"Tommy will be with you all day tomorrow. He's not staying in the room. We're going to the fundraiser as a family. Do I make myself clear, Stephanie?" Dickie's words were loud enough for Les to hear because I heard three growls again.

"Fine, Dickie. I guess you heard that, mom. Tommy will be with me tomorrow but I'll make sure he's protected. I won't let anyone cough or sneeze around him." Dickie went back to his paperwork and I returned to my conversation. "Don't worry about us, mom. I'm sure everything will be okay."

I heard mumbled voices but couldn't make out what exactly was being said until a deep voice rumbled in my ear and sent chills coursing through my body. "Stephanie, this is Ranger. I know the hotel the fundraiser is being held so I plan on having a full contingent of guys there watching out for you and Tommy. I will also be there as a guest along with Les, so we can keep a close eye on you in the crowds."

Relief rushed though me and I couldn't help letting out a sigh. "Thank you, but you really don't have to go to all that trouble. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"It's no trouble and protecting people is what I do. You know that, Babe." My heart fluttered and my stomach got all squishy when he called me Babe. "Les and I will find you tomorrow and hopefully we'll be able to talk more without your husband listening in."

"Okay, mom, thank you. Tommy and I will see you soon. He's been talking about you a lot so be prepared for lots of questions." Ranger chuckled and the sound made me melt a little into my seat.

"That MeeMaw? Tells her I come to visit and we make cookies and tells her I see Batman 'gain. He so tool." I heard three loud bursts of laughter from my phone and I guess that Dickie heard them too because he glared at me.

"I'll tell her, baby, but I think her and PawPaw heard you already." Tommy smiled at me and then went back to watching Sponge Bob on the iPad. Greatest invention ever for car rides with a toddler. I turned back to my call and decided I needed to end it quickly because Dickie wasn't looking too happy.

Ranger was still chuckling when he started talking again. "Tell little man that I'm glad he thinks I'm cool. We're going to go so we can set up the protection detail for tomorrow. Don't worry about a thing, Babe. I won't let anything happen to you or to Tommy."

I had to chuckle with him and smiled into my phone. "Okay. We'll see you guys soon. Bye." I heard the call disconnect and then put my phone back into my purse. Dickie was still glaring at me, but I ignored him and looked at the window.

"You could at least have the decency not to lie to me when your boyfriend calls. Or are you finally getting ashamed of him?" His voice was cold and when I turned my eyes to look at him, his eyes were even colder.

"So I should be like you and parade him in front of you like you do with your numerous women?" Tommy picked up on the tension in the car and looked at me with a worried expression. I smiled at him to let him know everything was fine and then turned back to Dickie. "We don't need to discus this now. It can wait until we're at the hotel and Tommy is asleep."

I got an eye roll from my husband and was thankful that he turned his attention back to his paperwork. I didn't want to discuss Ranger's plans for extra protection with him. For some reason, my gut was telling me that the less Dickie knew about Ranger's involvement, the better it would be for everyone.

Turning my attention back to the window, I sat in silence and stared at the passing scenery. I did my best not to think about seeing Ranger the next day. Hearing that he'd be at the fundraiser and that I'd get to talk to him again made me almost giddy. I felt like a school girl going on her first date. It was a feeling that I wasn't familiar with but one that I secretly kind of liked. I didn't know what Les and Ranger wanted to talk to me about, but I was excited to find out. Hell, I was just excited to see the sexy man who had taken up permanent residence in my dreams. Even though my dreams were the only place I'd ever get to experience him. Even if I wasn't married, men like him didn't pay attention to women like me.

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A/N - Thank you all for the continued reviews. They are what really keeps my fingers dancing over the keyboard! Please keep them coming.

With every chapter I write, my hatred for Dickie Orr grows and grows. LOL! In the next chapter we'll get to hear from Ranger again!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **Character's don't belong to me and I promise to return them to their rightful owner when I'm finished playing.

Thank you all for the reviews and fav/follows! My mind is constantly blown by everyone's response to this story! It makes be beyond happy to read the reviews.

I know I said that this would be out this evening, but I didn't want to make you all wait any longer. ENJOY! : )

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**Chapter 9**

**Ranger's POV**

After I'd hit the speaker button to end the call with Stephanie, I looked up to see one smiling goon staring at me and Lester who was watching me, speculatively, with a glare on his face. I realized, a little too late, that I had a stupid smile on my face and I made Tank smile even bigger when I slammed my blank look down. Tank shook his head. "Oh no, _Babe_. We've seen it so you can't try to hide it now. Tell us what that smile was for, Batman!"

Narrowing my eyes, I folded my arms across my chest. "Not telling you now let's get serious and get a plan worked up for tomorrow. I can't believe the son of a bitch set up extra protection for himself and not his wife and son." Both men looked at each other and then grabbed their notes. Shaking my head I grabbed my laptop and got down to work. "Les and I will be on the inside and I want you, Tank, on the outside along with Woody, Bobby, Junior, Cal and Hal. Set Ram and Zip up with their scopes on the opposite hotel roofs. Tell them not to take their rifles, just their scopes. The last thing we need is someone thinking we're the ones threading the states first family. Also tell the guys that I don't give a shit about the Governor. everyone's first responsibility is to protect Stephanie and Tommy."

Tank nodded and quickly walked out of the conference room to pass on my assignments. I hoped that Lester took the hint and followed, but knew I wasn't that lucky. I sensed his glares before I ever picked my eyes up from my computer screen. When my eyes met his, I expected to see the care-free cousin that I was used to interaction with, but instead I gazed into the cold, dark eyes of the soldier. Les didn't need to say anything because I could read the look on his face perfectly, but he decided I needed to hear it anyway. "Don't even fucking think about it, Ric."

I raised my eyebrows and glared right back at him. Even though I knew what he was thinking, I still asked for clarification. "Think about what?" Lester walked over and closed the conference room door so our conversation wouldn't be heard by any of the guys. He took the seat right next to me at the table and glared at me for a few minutes before answering my question.

"I've seen that look on your face before and usually the woman you're thinking about gets fucked and then forgotten. You're attracted to Stephanie and you think you want her, but I'm telling you to not even fucking go there." His voice was hard and left no room for arguments, but I wasn't going to let him order me around.

"Even if that's what I was thinking, I wouldn't need your permission. You're not her father." I saw Les tense and he leaned forward.

"I won't sit by and watch you hurt her. She means too much to me to let you use her for a night and then throw her away. I will kick your ass for even thinking about it. Go find another woman to fuck and leave Stephanie alone. She's got enough shit going on in her life. She doesn't need you sniffing around like a horny dog." Les and I could have gone back and forth for hours and neither of us giving in, but I had too much shit to do and didn't have time to listen to him.

Sighing, I sat back in my chair and scrubbed my hand over my face. "Not that I owe you an explanation or that this is even a possibility, but I don't see Stephanie the way you think I do. When I first met her, I'll admit, that I was attracted to her…."

Les knew interrupting me was a sure-fire way to get punched out, so I knew he wasn't thinking clearly when he broke into my thoughts. "Your first meeting was today at the Governor's mansion, right?"

Shaking my head and steepled my fingers and told him the real first time I'd met Stephanie Plum-Orr. "Do you remember a few weeks ago when I had you pick up the guy from the park and send him to…wherever?" Les furrowed his brows and then nodded when he remembered the instance I was referring too. "I caught him assaulting Stephanie in the park. He had her pinned against her car. She fought him for all she was worth to get away, but he was bigger and stronger. I disposed of him and then made sure her and Tommy were okay. THAT was the first time I met Stephanie and Tommy. I had no idea who she was and met brick walls when I tried searching for her."

Les looked ready to kill someone. "Where were Trevor and TJ?" I had no idea who he was talking about so I just raised an eye brow. Sighing, Les continued. "Her's and Tommy's secret service agents. She's not supposed to leave the mansion without them."

I recognized the two names from the agents assigned to me early in the day. "I don't know where they were, but they weren't with her. I don't even want to think about what could have happened had I not been in the park that day." We both fell quiet thinking just how bad things could have been for Stephanie and Tommy.

Several quiet minutes later, Les shook his head and glared at me again. "So you think she's attractive. I get that, but she's not one of your normal women that you can just fuck and walk away."

My patience with my cousin had reached its limit and my mouth spoke unfiltered. "Like you do?" Les sucked in a shocked breath and I saw his jaw muscles tensing. I knew if I let the situation get out of control, we'd both be sore and bruised the next day because of our tempers so I decided to be the bigger man. "Look, I'm sorry I said that. I don't know what type of relationship you have with Stephanie and frankly it's none of my business. When I first met her, yes I thought she was attractive, but there's just something else about her that is special. There is something about her that I crave." I saw Les relax so I continued talking, again, without filtering the words. "After that first meeting, I became obsessed with finding out who she was. Now that I know who she is, I am obsessed with keeping her and Tommy safe. I find myself thinking about her and wondering where she is and what she's doing. I've never felt this way about a woman before." I stopped talking and scrubbed my hands over my face with a loud growl. "Not that ANY of this matters. She's married and even if she wasn't, why the hell would she be interested in a guy like me?"

The conference room was quiet for several minutes. I was a little scared to look over at Lester because I didn't want to see his expression. I was half expecting him to punch me out for even talking about his girl that way. When the punch never came, I turned my head and saw him smiling at me. It was such a drastic change from the previous person sitting next to me that it shocked me a little. "What is that look for?"

Lester's voice oozed with sweetness when he finally opened that stupid mouth of his. "My little boy is growing up. I need to mark this day down in the history books. The day Ricardo Manoso finally met his match." Les was still smiling, so I raised my eyebrow for him to elaborate. "Stephanie is the first woman who you've EVER shown the least amount of interest in. Besides for a one night stand, that is."

I shrugged even though it was the truth. There was just something different about Stephanie and I couldn't figure out what it was. "My feelings toward her don't matter because, like I said, she's married. So my relationship with Stephanie will be strictly professional." I twisted my neck to pop the bones and then turned back to look at Santos who had a goofy grin on his face. Once his eyes sparkled, I knew he was probably going to say something that would get him punched. I wasn't wrong either.

"Ric and Babe sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!…." My growl stopped his ridiculous song but he was still smiling. "You really like her. I know you do because you popped your neck and that is the sign that you're only telling the partial truth. PLUS, she's the first woman I've ever heard you give a pet name too. Not even Rachel got a name like that. I have to agree with you thought, Ric. Stephanie really is a Babe." I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to look menacing, but thinking about Stephanie made my lips curve into a slight smile. "See, even thinking about her makes you smile. Awweee, I think you're in..."

Deciding that I didn't want him to finish that statement and I was beyond done with the conversation, I dropped my blank mask and glared at the man next to me. "Don't you have work to do?"

Les just smiled and shook his head. "Nope. I'm waiting on you to get done smiling and thinking about Stephanie so you and I can come up with a plan to keep her and Tommy safe." Les got serious again and I let out a silent sigh of relief. I didn't really want to sit and talk about my feelings with him. "I can't believe that asshole. He's purposely making her and Tommy targets and he doesn't even seem to care if they die."

My beast reared its head again and my words came out in a growl. "We're going to make damn sure NOTHING happens to either one of them." Les regarded me for a minute and then nodded his head once.

"Damn straight we are. I'll let you get to work. Let me know when you want to go over a plan." With that, he stood up from the table and walked towards the door but stopped before walking out. He turned back around and looked me dead in the eyes. "I'm going to end the thing I have with Stephanie but I'll never stop being her friend. I hope you can accept that friendship when the time comes." Lester didn't give me a chance to respond or to ask him what he meant because before I could even think about what he said, he was gone and I was alone in the conference room.

The next afternoon, Les and I stood inside the huge ballroom of the Borgata Hotel and Casino watching the guests mingle around. Everyone in the room paid at least $1500 for the chance to dine with the Governor and his beautiful wife and the proceeds from the fundraiser were being sent to a charity to help battered women. After looking into Richard and Stephanie Orr more closely the night before, I knew this fundraiser was Stephanie's idea. She had a passion for helping women who couldn't help themselves. I was amazed at the sheer number of places Stephanie volunteered her time. Learning just how much of a passionate humanitarian she was, made me extremely proud of her and then made me realize that her and I were in different worlds.

While she strived to always do what was right and morally right, I did the opposite. I did things that would probably make her cringe. While she was doing everything she could to save people, I was one of the guys destroying lives all around the world. Learning everything just reinforced my earlier thoughts that there was no way she could ever be interested in someone like me. We were too different.

"We've got movement from the Presidential Suite. Governor Orr and family are moving toward banquet hall." Tank's voiced boomed in my ear and, thankfully, interrupted my thoughts. I had him positioned in the security office watching the monitors so we could track the movements of the state's first family.

Every guy on the team had a earpiece and a microphone so we could all stay in constant contact and anyone of us could step in and protect Stephanie and Tommy if needed. Even though Les and I were attending the fundraiser as guests, we were still packing enough heat to take over a small country. I made sure my team was well prepared for anything.

"Ranger and Les, they're headed your way. They should be stepping into the banquet hall…..now." I turned to look at the doorway just as it opened and my breath caught in my throat. Stephanie stepped into the room ready to work and she was a sight to behold.

Her black formal gown was strapless and hugged her curves in all the right places. The slit on the left side went up to her mid-thigh and the impossible high heels she wore on her feet left my mouth watering for them to be wrapped around me. Her hair was expertly pinned up and styled with a few curls framing her face.

But as beautiful as she was, right then, that wasn't the part that made me stop breathing. What made me almost pass out from lack of oxygen was her smile. Stephanie literally lit up the room the second she walked in. Even though I couldn't see them, I knew her crystal blue eyes were sparkling as she spoke to the people standing around to great her. I understood, then, why the Governor insisted on keeping Stephanie close to him. She really made him look and sound good. I figured that without her beside him, he would have never of won the election.

"Breathe, Ranger." Lester's chuckled whisper in my ear snapped my gaze from Stephanie and my attention back to the room. I also took a deep breath and realized I really needed that gulp of air.

"Stephanie and Tommy are in the banquet hall with the Governor. Everyone keep their eyes peeled for anything suspicious." I gave the quiet order and heard affirmatives back from all the men. I was about to say something to Les when I heard a little voice from across the room.

"Batman! Mommy, Batman is here with uncle Es." I looked up to see Tommy running towards us with his gorgeous mother trailing behind.

When he got close enough, Les scooped up Tommy and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Hey, T-man. How's it going?" Tommy hugged Les and patted his cheek. For some reason, I felt jealous. My cousin already had a bond formed with the little guy and his mother. He had what I so sorely wanted.

"It good. Daddy say I have to wear dis." Tommy pulled at his little bow tie and made a face making Les and I both laugh.

"Yes, Tommy, your daddy told you to wear that so please stop pulling on it." Stephanie approached and I straightened my spine. She stood on her tip toes and kissed Les on the cheek before turning toward me. Her smile was radiant and I barely heard her words. "It's good to see you again, Ranger."

I wanted to say something back to her, but standing there in front of her, I lost my voice. I couldn't think of one intelligent thing to say so I just nodded and looked away. I caught the look as she furrowed her brow for a brief second before putting that smile back on her face. I felt like such a fool. Why couldn't I just talk to her? I felt like I was in the fourth grade again and was about to ask out Brandi Vincent. That was a traumatic experience then and there was no way I wanted to relive it, but I also didn't want her to think I wasn't interested.

By the time I found my voice, I turned to where she'd been standing and was about to speak when I noticed she was gone. Tommy was chatting wildly with Les and Stephanie had moved on to talk with some people across the room. I wondered how long I'd stood there like an idiot, but I guessed it didn't matter. Les looked up and smirked at me. "Smooth move, Ric. The next time why don't you try talking to the girl."

I was about to retort when Tommy spoke up. "Ya, Batman. When a lady talk to you, you talk back. Uncle Es teach me that." Les chuckled and ruffed his hair before looking back up at me.

"Yeah, Batman. Talk to the lady next time." Les smiled and I seriously wanted to wipe the floor with his face, but I couldn't in a room full of witnesses. And besides, Tommy and Les were right. I needed to talk to Stephanie and I made a plan in my head to make that happen before the day was over. I just needed to get her alone first. "If I'm reading your face right, you're coming up with a game plan to get Stephanie alone, so I'll help you." I looked at Les who was still smiling beside me. "It's going to have to wait until after the meal, but we'll work it out. I'll get her away from the Dick and the people and you and she can have a nice chat. Just please remember to use words this time."

Glaring at Lester didn't work so I gave him a deep grunt that told him he was annoying me. He just chuckled and scooped Tommy back up. "Why don't you and I go find your mommy, T-man. We'll leave Batman here to think about what he wants to say to her later." Tommy smiled and nodded his head. Before they walked away, Tommy turned around and looked at me.

"Use you words, Batman. Mommy not scary." Tommy smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back at him. He was so damn cute and reminded me so much of his mother.

"You got it Robin." Tommy's eyes got wide when I called him by Batman's sidekick's name.

I heard him telling Les, excitedly, as they walked away, "He tall me Robin. I his partner." Once again, I had to laugh. Who knew one word could cause that much joy in a little kid.

The meal went off without any problems. Lester and I were at the table behind the Governor's family so we were able to keep a close watch on them while they ate and talked with the people who paid $5000 per plate to eat with them. Stephanie kept looking at me as she spoke to people and smiling when she caught my gaze. I couldn't tear my eyes off of her so she was constantly catching me looking and she didn't look put out by that fact either.

After the food was gone, the guests went back to mingling. Tommy was laying heavy on Stephanie's shoulder and looked almost asleep. I stood close by, just in case she excused herself. I wanted to follow her and make sure she got him back to the suite safely. Even though her agent was right beside her too, I still needed to make sure she was okay.

When I finally heard her tell the couple she was talking to that she needed to get the sleepy boy upstairs, I smiled to myself. Thinking, maybe, I could escort her to her suite and talk to her there, I started walking towards the door that led to the private elevator the family used to enter the banquet hall but got headed off by Lester. When Stephanie got close enough with Tommy, Les motioned her over to where we both stood. "Why don't you let me take him for a bit Steph. You look exhausted and I think you could use some fresh air." Les motioned with his eyes to the veranda attached to the room. It was a little chilly outside and Stephanie wasn't wearing much, but she smiled and gladly handed Lester the sleeping boy.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Turning towards me, she smiled again. "Would you like to accompany me outside, Ranger? Since you're the expert, I'd like to get your opinion on a security matter." Her secret service agent looked at me with a keen eye but I ignored him.

"I'd love to, Mrs. Orr." I noticed her look and immediately remembered what she'd said the last time we met. "Sorry, Steph. I was always taught to be polite." She smiled again and took my arm when I offered it to her.

"We'll be right back, Lester. Thank you for watching him for me." Les waved off Stephanie and took a seat in the back of the room. One of the agents, Trevor I figured, stayed beside Les and Tommy while the other followed Stephanie and I to the outside doors.

Luckily for me, he stayed inside when Stephanie and I stepped outside. We only walked a few feet out onto the veranda before stopping. Both of us were silent and just stared out at the empty tables and chairs scattered on top of the cold concrete. I felt Stephanie shudder when i gust of wind blew by us, so I slipped off my suit coat and threw it over her shoulders. I caught her smile and wrap the jacket tighter around her as she turned and faced me. Her blue eyes were sparking and she had a half, crooked smile etched on her face. "You really were taught how to treat women, weren't you?" She asked the question with a hint of mocking, so I had to smile at her playful attitude.

"You have no idea Babe." She smiled at me again and I couldn't stop my hand from reaching up and cupping her gorgeous face. Then I heard my deep, rumbly voice speak without my brain telling it to. "And I'd love the opportunity to show you just how** good** I can treat you, Babe."

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A/N - There ya have it! The next chapter is finished, I just need to read through it and fix some mistakes but my weekend is jam-packed with craziness, so I doubt I get it posted before Monday. Thanks for reading! : )


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **Still not mine. Only the plot belongs to me.

Thank you all for your reviews. I haven't gotten around to responding to them (it's been an insane weekend) and I figured you would rather have a new chapter instead of my review responses! I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 10**

**SPOV**

"But I'd love the opportunity to show you just how good I can treat you." You would not believe just how those fifteen words effected me when they rumbled past his lips in that oh so sexy bedroom voice. Warmth, like I'd never felt before, flooded through my chilled body and rested itself right between my legs. My stomach turned to mush and I knew that my face was flamed red, but I didn't care about that. The hottest guy I'd ever seen was flirting with me. ME….Stephanie Plum-Orr.

Without thinking, I turned and kissed his palm before looking back up into his soulful brown eyes. "There's no time like the present to give me a little taste." Ranger's eyes darkened and I could see the war raging in them. I knew he wanted to take me up on the offer, but knew we weren't in the right place for doing anything more than talking.

Sensing the intensity of our proximity, Ranger let out a breath and took a step back from me. I was disappointed, but also thankful. "We'll have to hold off on that for a bit, Babe." Ranger's words brought me back further into reality. I could hear the humor in his tone so I knew I was amusing him. Sometimes I thought that was all I was really good for. Amusement and entertainment. To look good in front of people. I let out a sigh and smiled up at Ranger again.

"I think you're right. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable."

"You didn't make me uncomfortable anywhere, except maybe my pants, but I can live with that." My eyes got wide and trailed down his gorgeous body to the bulge in the front of his well tailored suit pants where they practically bugged out of my head.

I honestly have no idea how long I stared at him, but all too soon his deep laugh interrupted my admiration of his package and I turned my gaze back up to him. "If you keep staring at me like that then I'm going to be forced to take you up on your earlier proposition, Babe. How about we talk security. You said you had a problem for me?" When my eyes met his, and I saw the smile on his face, butterfly's once again filled my stomach and my heart almost exploded out of my chest. The attraction that I felt for Ranger was unlike anything I'd ever experienced and, frankly, it scared me.

Shaking my head to remove the lingering naughty thoughts, I smiled and went into business mode. "Well as you know, there are some threats against me and Tommy that have me pretty worried. My husband doesn't think it necessary to assign us extra agents like he did himself…" I honestly tried not to sound bitter, but I'm pretty sure that I failed. "…so I'd like to hire your company to provide an extra layer of protection when Tommy and I have to be out in public. Les has told me such great things about you guys and I feel like I can already trust you. I'm willing to pay whatever your needing me to." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "I'd give you the world if it meant that Tommy was safe."

Ranger reached his hand up and wiped away a tear that I didn't know had fallen. I hated being so weak in front of him, but the thought of anything happening to my son always made me cry. "There is no price for what I do for you and I will do everything in my power to keep **both **of you safe. My guys are here now doing just that and we'll be at every public event that you have." His warm hand continued to cup my face again and I leaned into his touch to absorb some of his strength. Closing my eyes I let out a deep breath and silently thanked God that he was willing to protect us. Somehow, I knew that we were safe whenever Ranger was around. I knew he'd protect us from whatever harm lingered in the shadows.

The feeling of his warm breath on my face caused my eyes to open and I saw that his face was dangerously close to mine. All I needed to do was move an inch and our lips would touch, but I didn't. "Thank you, Ranger."

My whispered words lingered in the cool air for several seconds as time between us came to a halt. My eyes lingered on his lips, much like his were doing to mine and I thought he was going to lower his head more, but suddenly he stood up straight and took a step back. I was confused about his sudden distance but understood perfectly the second my husband strolled through the door with a cute red head on his arm. The second he noticed Ranger and I standing across the veranda, his eyes hardened and he and his escort started walking our way.

"Stephanie, what the hell are you doing outside?" Dickie hissed as soon as he got close enough to me. "You're supposed to be inside working not out here whoring yourself out to the hired thugs." I felt Ranger tense and knew he could probably kill Dickie with two fingers if he wanted to. Since I didn't want to see Ranger in jail for the rest of his life, I put my hand on his arm and took a step toward my husband.

"For your information, Richard, I was talking to Ranger about adding some more bodyguards for Tommy and I. You don't seem to take our safety seriously, so I took it upon myself to see to it that we're protected." I didn't hide the disappointment from my voice and Dickie picked up on it. "Ranger has agreed to provide us some extra security when we're out in public."

Dickie sneered at Ranger and then me. "You don't have your own money and I never agreed to pay for this service so how do you plan on paying him? Whoring yourself out some more as payment? I saw your normal thug with _our _son inside." Ranger growled from behind me but I guess either Dickie didn't notice it or didn't care because he decided to keep talking. "I want you inside that banquet hall doing your job, Stephanie. Get our son back from that man and get to work. We'll talk about this extra security later." Dickie glared at me one last time before turning back to the redhead on his arm. "Are you ready to go talk about that project, Darlene?"

Giggling, the woman cooed at my husband. "Whenever you are, Governor Orr." She turned her smile into a frown. "But my names Darla."

Dickie smiled at her and then touched the tip of her nose. "Darlene, Darla? What does it matter. You and I have business to discuss." Dickie led the woman away from Ranger and I and his four secret service men followed. When the group was out of sight, I felt my shoulders slump and for some reason felt extremely embarrassed. I didn't know why my husband had to be such a complete asshole.

I glanced back at Ranger and felt ten times worse. The anger I saw on his face almost broke my heart. I assumed he was upset at how Dickie had treated him, not that I could blame him. I couldn't believe my husband had the nerve to call him a thug to his face. "I'm sorry about that Ranger. Dickie had no right to refer to you the way he did."

Ranger let out a ragged breath like he was trying to calm himself and then turned his hard eyes to me. They softened when they met my eyes. "Don't apologize because your husband is an ass. I don't care how he treats or refers to me. What I care about is how he treats you. He had no right to infer that you were…." Ranger stopped talking and I noticed his jaw clench.

I put my hand on his arm again. "I'm used to the way he treats me. Being called a whore is nothing new to me. He was right about one thing though." Ranger raised an eyebrow for me to continue. "I don't have my own money to pay you. Dickie never let me get a job and insisted on supporting me. If he doesn't agree to your protection, then I guess I'll have to figure something else out."

Ranger scowled and took a step closer to me. "No price, Babe. My guys will be out in force whenever you need me whether you pay me or not." The finality in his tone made me furrow his brows. I couldn't understand why he'd do something like that. "I'll do it because you and Tommy are special to Lester." Ranger dropped his voice to a whisper. "and to me. I don't want anything to happen to you, Babe."

I couldn't help the tears that flooded my eyes. No one had ever said anything like that to me before and I honestly didn't know how to react. Sure, Les said he loved me and that I was important to him, but there was just something entirely different about it when Ranger said it. He made me believe it and it made me feel so special. I was about to say something when Tommy's scared voice drew my attention away from Ranger. "Mommy!" I looked toward the door and saw Les holding my crying son. Once he saw me, he seemed to calm but then squirmed out of Les' arms and ran towards me. Scooping him up, I hugged him close and felt him shudder against me.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Les walked over and looked almost sick. "Tell mommy what happened."

Tommy wasn't talking so I looked to Les. "I think he had a bad dream. One second he was fine and the next he was crying for you." I felt Tommy shudder and knew that's what had happened. He'd been having increasingly bad dreams ever since the threats started and I couldn't figure out how he even knew we were in danger. It wasn't like I talked to him about what was going on, yet he still knew and was still worried about me.

"Is that what happened, baby?" I used my mommy voice and knew he'd settle down so he could talk to me. I felt him nod against my shoulder so I hugged him tighter and talked to a chair to sit down. Turning him to face me, I wiped his tears away from his angelic face and kissed his moist cheek. "You know it was just a dream, right? I'm okay and nothing's going to happen to me. Batman and Uncle Les are doing an excellent job of making sure I'm safe. Okay?" Tommy hiccuped and nodded his head before turning back to look at Ranger.

"You keep my mommy safe?" Ranger squatted down in front of me and smiled at my son.

"I will do everything in my power to keep your mommy safe. I promise nothing will happen to her." I felt Tommy relax and looked into Ranger's eyes. The truth in his statement was written all over his face and for the first time since everything started, I was able to relax a little too. Mouthing, "thank you" to Ranger, I pulled Tommy inside of the oversize Jacket I had on to keep him warm.

"Why don't we all head back inside and I find you something to eat, Tommy? How does that sound?" He picked his head up off my shoulder and smiled at me.

"Yike ice cream?" I smiled as Ranger and Les chuckled.

"Sure, I'm sure I can find you some ice cream." I stood up and tried to adjust Tommy so I could carry him comfortably but it was difficult. Ranger held his arms out to Tommy who looked at him with wide eyes before moving over into the strong arms of an almost complete stranger. I was shocked. Tommy was usually a little more reserved than that. My son's action even surprised Lester because he stood looking with his mouth open.

Walking back into the banquet hall, I heard Tommy ask Ranger, "You eat ice cream wit me, Batman? I share wit you." Ranger chuckled.

"Sure, Robin. I'll eat some ice cream with you." I had to shake my head and giggle. My son already had Ranger wrapped around his finger and they've only spent a little time together.

Once we were back inside, I was able to find a waiter and ask for two small bowls of ice cream. He looked at me funny, but didn't ask questions. I was the Governor's wife so what I asked for, I usually got. He brought out the bowls from the back kitchen five minutes later and I left Tommy and Ranger enjoying their treat while I went back to working the room. Dickie was right. Working the crowds was my job and I needed to do my part. Tommy was in good hands with Ranger so I didn't have to worry about him and Les, along with TJ, was sticking pretty close to me. I was able to do what I'd been sent there to do without any problems. The only issue was the overuse of my facial muscles. Putting on a fake smile for hours on end is extremely hard.

After the fundraiser was over and the majority of the guests had headed to their homes, I finally collapsed into a chair beside Ranger, who was still holding Tommy. They were chatting about silly things like if Batman wore underwear when I sat down and I had to giggle at my son's logic. "He has wear underwear because his mom makes him yike mommy make me." Ranger laughed and shook his head.

"Alright, Robin, you win. Batman most definitely wears underwear." He was still laughing when he turned to me. "You've got quite a kid here, Stephanie. He informed me that I was doing it all wrong when I ate around the chocolate syrup on my ice cream."

I had to laugh. Ranger was smiling and I could see a sparkle in his brown eyes. "Yeah, he has no shame in telling you that what you're doing is wrong. You should try playing any game with him. He spends more time telling me that I'm doing it wrong then we actually play." I chuckled when Tommy turned and looked at me with squinted eyes.

"You don't play right." Tommy turned to Ranger, looking indignant. "She peaks when she count for hide and seek."

Ranger laughed, loudly and looked at me. "How dare she! I never peak while playing hide and seek."

Tommy's eye got wide. "You play wit me?" His voice had such hope that I hated to disappoint him but I knew Ranger was extremely too busy to make a play date with my son. I was about to step-in when Ranger beat me to it.

"Absolutely. I'll give your mom directions to my office building and she can bring you by anytime." Tommy's smile at Ranger's words almost made me tear up. It was so genuinely full of excitement that I knew I'd probably be taking him over there sometime in the next week.

"Yay! Mommy, we go to Bat cave?" Tommy was practically bouncing up and down in Ranger's lap. How could I say no to that much excitement? Besides, that meant I got to spend more time with Ranger too.

"Sure, Baby. We'll go see Ranger at his office sometime." Tommy hopped down off Ranger's lap and gave me a hug before running toward Les who was chatting with a cute blonde. He was in full player mode and I had to smile because his game was about to get interrupted.

Chuckling, Ranger watched Tommy run away. My eyes stayed locked on Les talking to the other woman and I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Even though I knew Les saw other women, that was the first time I'd seen him in action. I guess my face revealed my feelings because Ranger's next words were spot on. "You care for him, don't you?"

Knowing he was talking about Les and not Tommy, I turned and looked into his concerned eyes. "I do care for Lester, a great deal, but I know the score. We're there for each other when each of us needs it. I never thought he was only seeing me and I'm truthfully surprised that this thing we have has lasted as long as it has. I guess…." My thought trailed off and I turned back to see Les and the blonde laughing at something Tommy said.

"You guess what, Babe?" Ranger's whisper made me turn back and look at him. His eyes were still so full of concern that his look almost made me cry.

"I guess, maybe, it's time for us both to move on. I'm married, after all, and Les needs to feel free to date and not have to worry about me. It's time for me to let him go but I'm terrified about doing that. He's the only one that's been there for me and who knows everything. I'm just scared to be alone." I felt the tears fall and then a warm finger brush them off of my face.

"You'll never be alone Stephanie. Stepping away from the physical side of your relationship doesn't mean you can't keep him as a friend. I know my cousin, and he cares a great deal about you and Tommy. I don't see him disappearing from your life." I felt more tears fall, which Ranger quickly brushed away. "And he'd just one person who will always be here for you. I'm the other."

I didn't get a chance to respond to or even inquire about what Ranger meant because my husband returned to the banquet hall, surprisingly alone. I assumed Darla or Darlene fulfilled her obligations and was dismissed from his presence. I saw him look at me and Ranger sitting closely and I noticed the dark look fall over his face. Dickie had a brief conversation with two of the agents who then hurried out of the hall and disappeared. He walked over to where we sat and I noticed Les inch his way closer to me too with Tommy in his arms.

The banquet hall was practically empty, so Dickie felt safe being his normal self. I guessed he wasn't worried about the agents or Ranger or Lester hearing him speak to me. "Stephanie, stop whoring and grab the brat. We need to get to the room so I can relax for a little bit. Darla really wore me out." I had never in my life been so full of disgust for him then right then. Tommy heard every word he said and didn't look to happy at his father.

"Don't talk to mommy yike that. Be nice." Dickie turned and glared at Tommy who had his little arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Shut up, Thomas. Come here…." Dickie held out his arms but Tommy made no move to go to his father and instead, hugged closer to Les. I could read Dickie well enough to know he was a hairs-breath away from blowing and I really didn't want Ranger and Les to witness that. I was embarrassed enough so I stepped in, once again.

"Come on, baby. Let's go upstairs." I held my arms out for Tommy who reluctantly came to me. "Tell Les and Ranger, bye." With tears in his eyes, Tommy looked at both the men and said a sad, 'goodbye'.

"It was nice seeing you again. Hopefully I'll be calling you next week to discuss the extra security." I kept my voice pleasant, even though I was seething on the inside. Ranger opened his mouth to say something, but Dickie's scoff stopped his words.

"There will be no extra security. I'm not paying for them to follow you around. You have your agents and that's enough, now come on." Dickie grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. I caught Ranger and Les' growls but I wasn't sure Dickie did. "Gentlemen, if you'd excuse me and my wife, we've got some things to discuss in private." Dickie looked at Les and glared. "Mr. Santos, it was a pleasure seeing you again."

"Governor Orr, always a pleasure." Les' words were clipped and I knew he was biting his tongue from saying what he really wanted to. He looked at me and gave me a sad smile. "I'll call you later, Steph. Bye T man." Tommy gave Les and Ranger a sad look and then buried his head in my shoulder. I felt him shudder against me and knew he was crying and I swear I wanted to kill Dickie for making him cry.

Dickie glared one last time at the two men and then pulled me out of the banquet hall. I turned around right before getting dragged out the door and looked back at Ranger's eyes. They were locked on me and he didn't look happy.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

Sorry for the delay in posting. My insane weekend spilled over into my week and I don't really know if I want to laugh or cry some nights. I haven't gotten around to replying to your wonderful reviews, but I am thankful for each and every one of them. They were the bright spot during my otherwise stress-filled day. Please keep them coming, even though I'm a terrible poster for not responding. :D

Now...on with the show!

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**Chapter 11**

**RPOV**

I was not happy! I couldn't believe the nerve of that pompous son of a bitch who claimed to be Stephanie's husband. When he said his vows, he promised love, honor, and cherish her. Not degrade, insult, and despise her. I have never, in my entire life, wanted to kill a man more than I wanted to kill him. It almost killed me when Stephanie admitted that she was used to that type of treatment. No women should ever get used to the idea of her husband treating her like shit.

Even though she tried to hide them, I saw the bruises on her gorgeous skin and wanted to pound the Governor's face in right then. Looking at Stephanie, I knew that she could be a vibrant, vivacious woman if allowed. At that time in her life she was so beaten down and looked entirely too sad for my comfort. Something inside of me wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss each and every bruise on her body. Of course the kisses wouldn't stop with her bruises though, but standing next to Santos wasn't the place to think about such things.

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy?" Les' voice was hard and deadly. I knew he felt the same way I did. "Treats his wife and kid like shit and then tries to act all gentlemanly toward me. I took all my power not to pound his fucking face into the ground." I nodded in agreement but couldn't make myself talk.

Tank's voice came over the radio and interrupted the homicidal thoughts running rampant in my mind. "The asshole and his family are safe and sound back in the suite. We heard everything that son of a bitch said to her and I can guarantee you, Ranger, that there is a list of guys waiting to beat the Governor's ass." I heard a chorus of 'hell yeahs' and clenched my fists. Those guys needed to get in line, though, because I was first and I knew Les would be second.

I let out a cleansing breath and tried to squelch the murderous thoughts running through my head. It didn't work, so I decided to get back to work. "Santos and I are headed back to RangeMan. Everyone do the same and we'll debrief once we're all back." Tank gave me a ten-four and I heard the guys all disconnect their radios before reaching up and turning mine off. Les did the same and then looked at me with a worried expression.

"I don't like leaving her with him, but there's nothing we can do is there?" I looked at him and shook my head sadly. With one last look at the door where I last saw Stephanie, I let out a silent sigh and headed out to the hall.

When we arrived back at the office, Lester headed to his apartment to change and I went to the fifth floor to grab a file before the debrief. The second I stepped off of the elevator, I knew something was going on. There was a high frequency buzz radiating off everyone around me and for the first time since I'd started the company, not one of my employees looked up when I walked onto the floor. They were all busy with something and I had a feeling that it had to do with Stephanie's case. Tank stood in the middle of the room looking pissed off.

He turned right before I got to him and started reporting before I even had to ask. "Junior hit pay dirt while looking into the Governor's law partners. It seems good old Jonathan Carroll of Wade, Carroll, Hunter and Hayes is married directly to the mob. His wife, Donnatella, is the daughter of Don Mazeti. They had their marriage license buried so deep that no one even sees the connection. Since Donnatelle is an illegitimate child, she never had Mazeti's last name, but sources say she's in as deep as her father." FUCK! That was exactly what I didn't want to hear. I hated dealing with the mob.

"So the Mazeti family is the one playing with the Governor?" I wanted clarification before I put a mob boss on my hit list. Tank looked weary and shrugged.

"Can't say for sure, but there's some other interesting information that Junior found. He can share it with us all in the meeting. Hector also called in and said he found out something too, but only wanted to tell you the info." Tank shook his head. "I'll never understand why you hired him. He's a strange one."

Nodding, I made my way back to my office to call Hector. He may have been strange, but he was damn good at what he did. If he had information, then I definitely wanted to hear it. While I walked away, I ordered Tank, "Get all the guys in the conference room and ready for a meeting. I'll be there shortly." I didn't need to look back and see his response. I knew he'd do what I told him to.

Back in my office, I closed my door and pulled out the encrypted phone that I used to call Hector. I didn't have to wait very long for him to answer and give me the information I was dreading.

*(Conversation in Spanish)*

"Bad news, Boss. The word on the inside is the Governor got a hit out on him. He put away multiple big named mob bosses and they're not too happy about it. Also thought it was funny that all but one family got hit hard. Does the Mazeti family ring a bell?" I let out a deep sigh. So we got mob guys on both sides of the shit.

"One of the Governor's old law partners is married to a Mazeti. That's not public knowledge either." I rubbed the bridge of my nose to stem off the headache I felt growing behind my eyes. "Who's ordered the hit and who does it entail? Just the Governor or his family too?"

"Brother's say it's just the Governor for now and they don't know which family ordered the hit. The idiot put away the bosses and some other top-tier guys, but left faithful lower level guys on the street. The bosses are still running things from behind bars. I'll keep my ear to the ground in here and let you know if anything else comes up." I heard someone yelling in the background and knew Hector's time on the phone was up.

"Thanks, Brother." His side of the call ended before mine and I sighed as I put the phone back in my drawer before collapsing into my office chair. So the Governor had two problems. On one side, he made enemies with the worst kind of people and had a hit out on his head and on the other he was probably being blackmailed by the same type of people who were trying to control him. If I didn't think Richard Orr was an idiot before that point, those two facts would have pushed me to that conclusion.

I was about to stand back up out of my chair when I heard my cell ringing in my pocket. I didn't recognize the number so with a questioning tone, I answered the call. "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was quiet so I had to strain to hear her. "Is this Ranger?"

"Yes, who is this?" I tried not to sound too harsh, but the day had been long and I was slightly tired.

"You don't know me, but my name is Tallulah and I work with Stephanie and Tommy. I found your card in her room and copied your number down. I hope that was okay." I perked up immediately and hit my intercom to call in Tank, Bobby and Santos since I wanted them to hear the call too. I knew it was important to the case.

"That's fine, Talluluah, I'm glad you called. You sound worried, is everything okay with Stephanie and Tommy?" The three guys walked into my office at that instant and Les raised an eyebrow when I put the phone on speaker and sat it on my desk.

"I don't think so. Dickie brought them back to the room and was in a foul mood. I'm worried about Stephanie. Tommy is here with me and he's sleeping right now, but he's going to wake up and know something is wrong." Les growled and cursed under his breath.

"Can you hear them arguing, Lula?" I looked at him weird when he shortened the woman's name but figured he probably knew her from his time spent with Stephanie. That jealousy thing surged through me again.

"Les is that you?" I could tell by her tone that Lula's spirit picked up a little. Santos smiled and chuckled.

"Yeah. I work with Ranger. I figured Steph would have told you that." Lula huffed.

"I guess she failed to leave out some juicy tid-bits." We all heard the woman sigh. "I heard arguing for about twenty minutes and it was loud. The things he said to her don't need to be said to anyone. Not even someone you hate. Now, it's quiet but I can hear her crying. I'm worried about her safety. He's sending her out tomorrow with just TJ to the building site in Trenton. That's what they argued about earlier. She is worried about the threats and he told her that she'd be going come hell or high water. Then he said that if the pictures were true, then her death would be quick and painless so it didn't really matter." Lula's voice broke when she said that last part.

"When is she going to be there tomorrow and where exactly is it at?" I looked at the guys and they all had the same idea I did. I could tell by their faces.

Through her sniffles, Lula answered. "She has to be at the site to meet with the Butler's at two and it's the woman's shelter they're building on Roeland Ave. That isn't the nicest part of town and TJ can only watch out for so much. Dick breath refused to allow her extra security, but he did say T-man can stay with me. Stephanie had to beg, but he finally agreed."

I didn't even have to think about the situation because there were no other options for me. "I will have a team there tomorrow to back up TJ. Most of my guys won't be seen, but Les and I will be there too and we'll make sure nothing happens to her."

We all heard the nervous breath leave Lula's body and we knew, then, just how worried she was. "Thank you. I can pay you whatever it costs for a protection detail like that. Just send me the bill. I don't care. I want my girl safe and if her husband isn't going to do it, then I'm going to."

"There will be no charge. I spoke with Stephanie earlier today at the fundraiser and she requested extra security from my company. She hasn't gotten me a schedule, but you can guarantee that we'll be there each and every time she needs us." All three men in the office with me nodded their heads in agreement.

Lula's tone of voice changed and we all knew she was smiling. "So you're the reason Stephanie came back to the suite smiling. Before Dickie ruined it, I swear her smile could have lit up Times Square. Of all the years I've known her, I aint never seen her smile like that. She wouldn't tell me who caused it, but Tommy kept talking about Batman being there. I assume that's you?"

I had to smile. There was just no stopping it. "That would be me. Tommy's quite a kid." Lula laughed.

"You got that right." She was quiet for a few seconds before continuing. "I'll work on getting you a copy of Steph's schedule. The thing is, Dick breath adds stuff to it at the last minute and doesn't tell me. That's what happened with tomorrow."

"Thanks Lula and please let Stephanie know not to worry tomorrow. The best team around is protecting her and we won't let anything happen to her." We heard a mumbled, 'thank god' and then Lula returned to the phone.

"I'll let her know. Thank you guys and oh Les…" Les smiled.

"Yeah Lula."

"T-man mentioned earlier that his Batman doll needs a friend and he wants you to find him a Robin. He said Batman doesn't go anywhere without Robin." Les started laughing and shook his head. I had no idea what they were talking about and felt the jealous beast pace in its cage again.

"I'll remember that and look for one. There's bound to be some holiday coming up where he needs a gift." Lula laughed along with Les. "Thanks Lula. Call me or Ranger if you ever need anything, okay?"

"Will do. I'll see you later." We heard the beep signaling the ended call and I grabbed my phone and put it back in my pocket.

"Is the Governor TRYING to get his wife killed?" Bobby's voice broke though the silence of the office.

I'd had the same thought on more than one occasion, but I just didn't see how a man who calmed to love a woman could do something so heinous. I looked at Les who was thinking the same thing I was but it was Tank who answered.

"Politically, it would be a good move. He'd get sympathy votes and would probably get reelected even if he totally fucked up the entire state. And if he has his sights set on going higher in the political game, then it would be even better. A single father who's loving wife was brutally murdered would make a great Presidential candidate. He'd have most of the country sobbing and eating out of the palm of his hand." Six eyes were staring hard at Tank who spoke very matter of fact. He'd majored in political science in college so if anyone knew the political game, it would be him.

"You really think that's what he's planning?" Bobby's voice was incredulous. Tank shrugged.

"I'm not in the man's head, thank God, but he's up to something. No man in his right mind would send his wife out with a target on her head. I mean, even if he doesn't love her anymore, he had to when they first got together."

Les snorted and shook his head. "I don't think that man ever loved her. He treated her like shit from the beginning but he was a lawyer so Steph's mom pushed her into the relationship. Stephanie actually never agreed to marry him. Her mom said yes for her, but she was so excited that Stephanie went along with it."

We all looked at Les with shocked expressions. Les nodded and let out a sigh. "I knew Dickie was cheating on her before they got married and I tried to tell her, but she didn't want to hear it. Stephanie kept saying that he was her only chance to live a normal life."

My poor, Babe. I couldn't believe what Santos told us. I didn't understand why she'd let someone else make a life altering decision like that for her, but then I thought of my own brief try at a marriage and realized I'd done the same thing. I never truly loved Rachel, but when she got pregnant, my mom ordered me to marry her and make an honest woman of her. My family was close friends with Rachel's and both were very much involved with the Catholic church, so I did what my mom wanted. I married her and gave Julie my last name, but then it all went to shit. Luckily for me, though, I was able to get out of my disaster of a marriage. My poor Babe was living a nightmare in hers.

"So what's the plan, Boss?" Tank's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked at the three men.

"Let's get this debrief done and then we'll talk about security for tomorrow with the rest of the guys. Hector shared some unsettling information that you all need to hear about and I want to hear Junior's report on the partners." In a rare showing of emotion, I let out a sigh and scrubbed my hands over my face before finishing my thoughts. "As much as I hate to say this, I think Stephanie and Tommy are in some serious trouble. The Governor has mob families all over the state pissed off at him and they're wanting revenge."

"Fuck! I knew that god damn son of a bitch was worthless. He's going to get them killed, isn't he?" Les looked at me and I saw the true concern in his eyes for Stephanie and Tommy. I knew how he felt too because the same fear bubbled inside of me. For having just met them, Stephanie and Tommy were quickly becoming an important part of my life.

I didn't really know what to say to Les. If the mob wanted someone dead, then there was nothing anyone could do to stop them. Aside from locking the target away or making them disappear, there was no keeping them safe. Governor Orr was not going to stay locked away and even though I COULD make him disappear, that probably wouldn't be the best route to go. I had faith in the secret services abilities to keep him safe so I didn't much worry about him. My concern was for Stephanie and Tommy. "We'll do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen." Each man read the determination in my face and nodded once before they each headed out the door. I took a few calming breathes before following them out of my office door and into the conference room down the hall. We had a meeting to get finished.

Four hours later, I was finally able to climb the stairs and head to my apartment. After hearing all the reports, the guys and I spent the rest of the time going over possible scenarios of what could happen the next day. Zero had Family connections so he tapped into them to get the scoop while Vince shared what he'd learned from his ten years on the FBI's organized crime task force. They both were not too excited to have to deal with the mob in general, but each man paled when I mentioned the Mazeti name. According to Vince, they were the worst ones out there.

Junior's digging paid off and we were able to recover the case files from all the trials Governor Orr tried while he was the District Attorney. Every single one of them were weak with evidence against the defendant, but he still managed to put some big time mob bosses behind bars. We also found it funny that his star witnesses for each and every conviction were somehow tied to the Mazeti family. Our search engines worked over time connecting the dots, but eventually we had a decent picture of what was going on. Sadly, all the dots pointed to one thing...Dickie Orr was an idiot!

He let his partner's use him as their puppet and while he did their dirty work, they sat in their offices reaping all the rewards. With the other Families crippled from the arrests and prison terms, the Mazeti family stepped in and took over most of their rival's territories. They pushed the drugs, they owned the pimps, they sold the guns, and they controlled the Governor. Pretty damn scary when you stopped to think about it. Even though we still didn't know what rules they wanted the Governor to follow, we had a good list of suspects to keep a close watch on. The Mazeti family was at the top of that list along with the various hit men that the other Families were known to use.

An old acquaintance of mine was one such hit woman. I decided that I needed to give Jeanne Ellen a call the next day to see if she'd taken the job and what information she'd share with me. It would take some sweet talking, but I could get her to tell me what she knew.

My apartment was cold and dark when I walked in but I didn't bother turning on the lights or the television. I simply grabbed a beer from the fridge and collapsed down on my couch. It was way past my normal bedtime and I was beyond exhausted but I still wanted to finish my beer and think before calling it a night.

The beer was half gone and I was about asleep when my cell phone started ringing in my pocket. With a loud sigh, I pulled it out expecting it to be the control room telling me that there was an alarm or a break-in, but a glance at the caller ID told me that I had no idea who was calling me so late. I didn't even try to hide the annoyance in my voice when I answered the call. "What?"

"Ummm…Ra…Ranger? This is Stephanie."

I sat up immediately and was on full alert. "Babe? Is everything okay?"

I heard her sigh and then in a rush, she just started talking. "I'm sorry for calling so late and interrupting your night….…but you told me to call anytime I needed something and I know you talked to Lula earlier today and I just wanted to let you know that the plans for tomorrow have changed a little and I don't know what I'm going to do about….." My anger and annoyance melted the second I heard her sweet voice. I felt like an ass for snapping at her and I hated to interrupt what she was saying but I guessed Stephanie rambled when she got nervous because she just kept right on talking.

"Babe, please calm down. You're talking a million miles a minute. You didn't interrupt anything. I just got home and was enjoying a cold beer. Now tell me what's changed about tomorrow?"

"Dickie's making me take Tommy tomorrow. I tried to tell him that a construction site isn't the safest place for a toddler, but he's making me take him and I'm really scared about what all could happen." Stephanie's voice trembled in fear and I knew that she was beyond scared.

"I agree with you. A construction site is no place for a toddler. Why does the Governor want Tommy there with you?" I settled back into my couch. Even though the topic of conversation was anything but relaxing, just hearing Stephanie's voice made me feel warm and happy.

"He thinks Tommy and I need more public sightings and since this shelter is so important to Dickie's finical backers, he wants us both there to see its progress. Honestly I think he just wants the public to see what a happy family we are even though we're anything but happy or even a fucking family. Stupid fucking dick-wad." I chuckled at Stephanie's outburst. I hadn't heard a woman curse like that since my Army days. Stephanie must have heard my chuckle because I heard her curse under her breath and then mumble something about talking before thinking. She was quiet for a few beats before continuing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that at the end. Sometimes my mouth gets away from me."

Images of her mouth having its way with me flashed through my head, but I quickly pushed them out. It was not the time to even think about those things. "It's okay, babe. I'm glad you called to let me know the change of plans. We've already got things lined up on our end. We're going to have a team disguised at construction workers around the site as well as guys further out securing the perimeter. Having Tommy there won't cause us any problems but if you're not comfortable with him being around the machinery, how about this." I swallowed the rest of my beer and sat the bottle on the coffee table in front of me. "How about I have Les waiting at the site with a vehicle and as soon as you get there, get your picture snapped with you and Tommy wearing the hard hats. Then, Les can bring Tommy back to the building so he's safe. Tommy's agent can even accompany them if it will make you feel better. Then after you are done with whatever you have to do, you can follow the guys and I back here to get Tommy. We can also go over some things that we've uncovered about your husband while you're here. Does that sound like a good idea to you?"

I could hear Stephanie thinking on the other end of the call and I could almost see her chewing on her bottom lip that I wanted to suck between my teeth and…."Are you sure that won't be too much of a problem? I don't want to cause you or Les any stress."

"No, Babe. It would be no problem at all. You're not causing us stress and if it will alleviate some of your stress then that's what we'll do." I heard her sigh and knew she was going to agree.

"Okay. I think that will be fine. It will put my mind at ease knowing that Tommy is safe with Les. Thank you Ranger."

"You're welcome, Babe. Anything I can do to help you, I'll do it."

Her next word startled me because I wasn't expecting it and it came out as a breathy whisper so I barely even heard it. "Why?"

There was no point in trying to side step the question or even try to lie to her. "Because you and Tommy are special to me and I don't want to lose either one of you."

The silence over the call was deafening and the only sound I heard was the rapid beating of my heart. I wasn't even breathing for the minute that it took Stephanie to form her response. "We don't want to lose you either, Ranger. In such a short amount of time and only two real interactions, you've become an important person in my life. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm not going to turn you away. As much as I hate to admit it, I need you. I need you to keep us safe."

My heart nearly exploded in my chest. It wasn't a declaration of love, but to me it was something so much more. She put her trust in me to keep her safe. Most people look at me or the guys and see hired killers or thugs. But Stephanie didn't see those things. She saw the people who we truly were and she accepted us as such. True, she didn't know EVERYTHING about us, but I was certain that once she did it wouldn't change her opinion.

"And keep you safe I will, Babe. I promise." We let the silence stretch between us again for several minutes. I didn't care. I just loved knowing that she was on the other end of the line so it almost felt like she was right next to me.

When I heard her yawn, I chuckled and decided to end the call. "I'll let you get some sleep, Babe. Is the number you called from your personal cell?"

Stephanie responded in a very sleepy voice. "Yes. I always have it on me so if you need to contact me, just call that number. Not many people have it, so please keep it private."

"I'm saving it right now in my phone and trust me, it would take a genius a year to hack into my device. Your contact is safe with me." I chuckled when I said the last part and I heard her giggle. Hearing that small noise filled me with such warmth again. "I'll see you tomorrow, Babe. Sleep well."

"Okay, Ranger. Thank you again." I could tell she was fading fast.

"It's my pleasure. Goodnight."

At hearing her mumbled, 'Goodnight', I ended the call with a smile on my face. It wasn't a lengthy conversation or even a personal one, but it still made me feel like I was flying. It was the simple things like that that made me realize that I was headed in a direction that I'd never seen myself going. I wasn't a family man and my life didn't really lend itself to a relationship, but with Stephanie, none of that mattered. With her, I wanted those things and frankly, that kind of scared me.

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A/N - Okay, so now we have some of the players laid out. Dickie's in pretty deep and the stuff is coming from both sides. FYI...I know very little about the judicial system so there are probably some incorrect statements in there. I'm pulling the creative licensing card and writing what makes sense to me. LOL! I hope you all liked it. : )


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **Characters recognized by you do not belong to me. I'm simply playing with them for a short while.

I know...I'm still being a really bad author/poster by not responding to your reviews. The little time I have to spend on FF I do it writing instead of responding. I read and appreciate each and every review so please keep them coming!

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**Chapter 12**

**SPOV**

The next morning, I woke up with a huge smile on my face. Talking with Ranger the night before had done wonders for my stress. Just hearing his voice calmed my nerves like no one had ever done before and knowing that I would see him later that day made getting out of bed easy. I was up way before my alarm and spent extra time getting ready. I pretended that it was because I wanted to look good for the camera's but I really didn't give a shit about them. I wanted to look good for Ranger.

Since that day's pubic appearance was at a construction site, I decided to put on a casual looking pair of khaki wool slacks and a white wrap around shirt that hugged my curves just enough to look flattering and not trashy. I figured my leather knee-high boots would complete the outfit nicely and I even spent a time straightening my hair and doing my make-up so it looked flawless. Standing back and looking in the mirror, I was quite impressed with the reflection staring back at me.

I was too busy admiring myself in the mirror so I failed to hear my door open but the sweet little voice of my son snapped me back to reality. "Oh, mommy. You took pretty." Lula stood behind Tommy with a big smile on her face.

After giving me a sharp whistle, she had to put her two cents in too. "Yeah, Steph, you clean up nice. And you didn't even need my help. Who knew you had style."

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to the mirror and smiled. I did look good! Turning back around, I smiled at Tommy who was sitting patiently on my bed with his Batman doll next to him. Lula dressed him in a pair of black pants and a black shirt. It wasn't his normal outfit so I looked at Lula and was about to ask, but Tommy answered for me. "I dress yike Batman and keep you safe." My heart melted a little so I had to bend down and kiss his curly head.

"Thanks Baby. You look great." Tommy smiled at me and continued playing with Batman. I motioned Lula to the closet and followed her in. I could see the look of concern on her face and wanted to put her at ease.

"I took your advice and called Ranger late last night. He and I came up with a plan to keep Tommy away from the site today. Les will be there and after Tommy and I get our picture taken, he'll take Tommy back to Ranger's office." Lula looked relieved, slightly, but I could still see concern.

"That's all good for Tommy, but what about you?" I smiled at her.

"Don't worry about me. Ranger said he was going to have a team there to keep me safe and you know what?" Lula looked at me with her brown raised. "I actually feel pretty good about today. I'm not nervous about being in public and I'm looking forward to being outside."

Lula regarded me intently before smiling. "Huh! Are you looking forward to being outside or are you looking forward to see Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome again?" I didn't look away in time and Lula saw my blush. "OH, I knew it. Tell me all about that man. I mean, Les is a fine specimen, but Ranger? Seriously, who needs to look that good?"

I giggled and pulled on one of my leather coats. "He is ridiculously attractive but there's nothing really to tell you. I don't know much about him except he told me that he would do everything he can to keep Tommy and I safe and I believe him."

Lula didn't look convinced, but thankfully let it go. I knew it wasn't the end of that particular conversation. "I'm going to be late if I don't leave now." Quickly walking out of the closet I froze when I saw who was on the bed with Tommy.

Dickie sat with our son on his lap, glaring at me. Fear bubbled in my belly wondering if he'd heard the plan to send Tommy to safety or not. I didn't think Lula and I were talking that loud, but sometimes I thought Dickie had super-sonic hearing. Dickie was his normal charming self that morning, which only caused that fear to turn into disgust and anger. "Couldn't you have picked out something nicer to wear? Jesus, Stephanie, you're the First Lady of New Jersey, not a prostitute." I looked down at my rather conservative outfit and then back to Dickie. His gaze locked on my wonder bra enhanced cleavage so I pulled the jacket tighter around me and glared right back.

"I'm dressing like myself and you can either get over it or get out. I'm done with you picking and choosing what I will or will not wear. I'm going out to make YOU look good, so shut and leave me alone." I heard Dickie growl but I ignored it and went back to getting my stuff together to leave.

His voice was hard when he spoke again. "Lula, take Tommy down to the car. My WIFE will be there shortly." Lula glanced at me and I gave her a short nod. She quickly picked Tommy up and carried him out of the room. Dickie waited until they were gone before standing off the bed and stalking toward me. The look in his eyes was feral and, frankly, scared me. "I kind of like this aggressive, defiant attitude you have going on, Steph. It's pretty hot."

Nothing could have disgusted me more than hearing that. There was nothing about my husband that I considered hot. I simply rolled my eyes and turned myself away from him which was the wrong thing. His hands clamped around my upper arms and before I knew he, he'd spun me around so I was facing him once more. "Do not turn your back on me, ever." The grasp on my arms tightened until they were painful and I cried out. Dickie sneered. "That's more like it. I think it's hot when your defiant, but my favorite is when you're scared of me. That's what really gets me turned on." Dickie leaned in and I turned my head away so his lips met my cheek instead of my lips.

"I have to get going or I'm going to be late. The press doesn't like it when we keep them waiting." Dickie sighed and after one last squeeze, thankfully, released me.

"You're right. Go and get this done and then come back here and find me. We've got some things to talk about." Dickie looked at me intensely for a few seconds. "Don't disappoint me today."

"I won't. I'm just going to walk around the construction site with Jameson and answer some questions from the media. I know what I'm doing and I'll make you look good, I promise." Dickie gave me a sharp nod. "I was also wondering if I could take Tommy over to my parents after we're done at the site. Since we'll be in Trenton and he hasn't seen them in a while. You could meet me over there for dinner later."

Dickie rolled his eyes. "I've got more important things to do than have dinner with your crazy family. You and Tommy go and do whatever you want. If your mom doesn't see you for a month, she'll start calling me and I don't have time for that." His eyes turned dark again. "Then you can come find me later tonight after you get back. We'll discuss some things and then maybe make a brother or sister for Tommy."

Revulsion rolled inside of me and I almost puked on Dickie's shoes. "In your dreams, Dickie. You've got plenty of women to satisfy your needs. Call one of them." I was a little surprised when he didn't get angry at my statement. Instead his leer turned into a sneer.

"If you won't come to me willingly, then I'll have to do what I did to get Tommy. Either way, we will have another baby. The majority of my voters have at least three children. We need to get busy." With that, Dickie turned and walked out of the room and left me standing there speechless. I wondered what he meant about doing what he did to get Tommy but I didn't have time to ponder it nor did I really want to. The implications behind that statement terrified me so I did what I always did and went into denial land.

Shaking off the last of my fear, I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs. I had things to see and people to do. Ranger's face flashed in my mind and I quickly realized what I'd just thought and smiled. I could so see myself doing Ranger.

Forty minutes after leaving the mansion, TJ pulled the dark Lincoln Town Car in the parking lot of the new Women's Shelter. There were people everywhere and I noticed that the police had been brought in to secure the spectators. The media was out in force too and I suddenly got a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Trevor, who was sitting up front, turned and saw my pale complexion. "You okay, Steph?"

I kept looking around for anything that looked dangerous, but I was at a construction site so it all looked pretty scary to me. Tommy was singing in his seat next to me and I was suddenly very thankful that he wasn't going to be around the area much longer. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get this over with."

Trevor nodded and slid out of the car, followed by TJ. I unbuckled Tommy and got him fixed to go in front of the cameras. He had a little chocolate on his lip from the Hersey Kiss I'd given him so I licked my thumb and wiped it off. His little blue eyes glared at me, making me smile. "Sorry, Baby. You had a little chocolate left and mommy wanted it." Tommy rolled his eyes at me and climbed off my lap. When the door opened, he hoped out and I quickly followed.

The flashes of the cameras took me by surprise but I plastered on my fake smile and lifted Tommy up into my arms. I answered a few questions about the shelter and sang the praises of Jameson Butler; even though it made me sick. When the media circus was satisfied that they'd gotten the story, they began to scatter and I was thankful that my charade could drop, or maybe it couldn't. The contractor and the architect stood in front of me smiling. "Mrs. Orr, shall we walk through the site now? I have some things I want to show you."

I was about to answer when Tommy's excited voice interrupted. "Batman!" Tommy dropped my hand and took off running, causing me to turn and see where he went. Panic filled me for a brief second until I saw Ranger squatting down and welcoming him into his arms. My heart melted a little seeing my little son wrapped in Ranger's strong arms.

Turning back to the two men in front of me, I excused myself for a moment and walked toward Tommy, Ranger and Les. I got to the trio in time to hear Les whine to Tommy. "What am I, T-man? Chopped liver? You didn't even say hi to me."

Tommy crossed his arms and glared at Les. "You not chop yiver. You my Es, but dis Batman. He cooyer." Ranger and Les laughed.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah, Les. Batman is cooler." Ranger looked my way at my words and smiled a full, panty ruining smile. "Cooler? Nope, Batman is fucking hot and his super power is ruining my panties."

Ranger's smile grew bigger and Les burst out laughing. Heat flooded my face once I realized I'd spoken out loud. "Mommy, you say bad words and what do running panties mean?" My face flamed again and there was no way I could look at Ranger so I turned to Les. Avoidance was my friend.

"Are you sure you're okay with taking Tommy? I have to walk through the site with the architect and the contractor and I don't know how long I'll be." I was suddenly getting very nervous about leaving Tommy. I trusted Les, but I hated being separated from him.

"It's fine, Steph. You do your thing and Tommy and I will head back to RangeMan and play some hide and seek. I hear you cheat so I've recruited some of the guys into playing fair." I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh.

"I don't cheat." Les chuckled so I turned to Tommy. "Are you going to be good for Uncle Les? Do exactly what he says and don't cause too much trouble, okay?" Tommy smiled at me and started bouncing in Ranger's arms.

"We go to you house Batman?" His voice was almost like a squeal.

Chuckling, Ranger answered the excited three year old. "You can go with Les right now and then your mom and I will be there later."

Tommy turned to me and furrowed his brow. "You come yater?"

"Yes, Baby. I'll come later. Trevor is going to go with you and Les, okay." Tommy looked at me with a worried expression and then turned to Ranger.

"You take care of mommy?" Ranger smiled.

"You got it, Robin. I'll take good care of your mommy. She's in good hands, trust me." Tommy smiled back and nodded his head.

Trevor, who was standing behind Les, stepped up when I motioned for him. "Trevor, you are going to go with Les and Tommy to RangeMan. TJ and I will meet you there later. Can you pull the seat out of the car to put it in the SUV?" Trevor gave me a sharp nod and then went to do what I'd requested. I really liked our two secret service agents. They were young and eager to move up the ladder so they did whatever I said.

It didn't take long for the guys to get the seat transferred over and before I knew it, I watched the SUV carrying my son pull out of the lot and disappear down the road. I couldn't stop the tear from falling down my face. Ranger noticed and smiled at me. If I read the look on his face right, then he wanted to pull me into his arms and hold me tight, but he figured there were too many people around for that so he settled for wiping off the tear and talking quietly to me. "He'll be fine, Babe. Les and Trevor would both give their lives for him. Let's you and I get this tour done so we can get out of here." Nodding, I let out a sigh and turned back to the two guys who were waiting patiently for me at the front of the newly contracted building.

"Let's get this done, Batman." Ranger chuckled and followed behind me. I was intensely aware of his hand positioned at the small of my back and its warmth sent tingles straight to my core. The electricity radiating in the small space between Ranger and I was almost too much to handle. I had no idea if he felt it too, but the desire to be closer to him consumed me and I let out a moan thinking about Ranger and I closer….and naked.

His warm breath on my ear made me close my eyes for a brief second while we walked. "I'm having the same thoughts, Babe, but out in public isn't the place. We'll be alone later." My mouth suddenly ran dry thinking about being alone with him. I'd just met him so my thoughts kind of frightened me but luckily we stepped up to the tour guides for the day and those thoughts got interrupted. Ranger was right, out in public wasn't the place.

Walking through the shelters construction site, I saw multiple well-built and good-looking men watching me. A few of them made eye contact with Ranger so I assumed they were some of his guys so I felt extremely well protected walking around the grounds. Ranger stayed behind me the entire time, he was even closer to me than TJ was, so that helped my anxiety too.

After we'd toured everything and I spent a few minutes praising the contractor and the architect on their progress, I was getting ready to go when I heard something hit the bricks right beside my head. Little pieces of concrete and rock flew off and before I knew what was happening, I was on the ground under both TJ and Ranger. Ranger was saying something to someone and TJ was calling for backup. I heard tires squealing and then I felt myself get hoisted up and tossed into the back of a car that then sped away.

When we'd gotten a safe distance away from the site, Ranger moved himself off of me and sat me up on the seat. I looked around and saw a giant black man driving the SUV and TJ sitting on the other side of me. Both he and Ranger looked sick and both kept watching me.

I hadn't realized my hands were shaking until Ranger took them in his and started rubbing them. "You're having an adrenaline crash, Babe. Just try to take some deep breaths and slow your heart rate."

After several minutes, I was finally able to calm myself a little and turned to look at Ranger who was watching me with a concerned eye. "What happened exactly? I mean one minute I'm talking to the contractor and the next I'm down on the ground."

Ranger let out a small breath. "Someone took a shot at you. The bullet hit the wall you were standing next to. No one heard the gun so it had to be silenced and since the perimeter of the area was well guarded, then I'm guessing it was a long-range shot with a sniper rifle."

My eyes filled with tears. I remembered how close the spot on the wall was to my head and I had to ask the question. "Did they miss on purpose?"

I felt Ranger tense as he answered. "I don't know, Babe." I must have looked terrified because Ranger didn't hesitate to pull me into his arms. I couldn't hold back the tears any longer, so I sobbed into his chest as he whispered to me in an entirely different language. I had no idea what he said, but the low rumble of his words calmed me and I pulled away from him just a little.

"I'm sorry about that." My words came out on a whisper and I looked down, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

Ranger's put his finger under my chin and lifted it up so I could look into his eyes. "Don't be sorry or embarrassed. You had an appropriate reaction to what happened. You had every reason to break down like that and I'm honored that you let me comfort you." His hand moved to brush some stray hair out of my face and then rested so it was cupping my cheek. "I'm sorry that we didn't protect you better."

I don't know what made me do it, but I took his hand that had been cupping my cheek and pulled it around to my lips. I kissed his open palm before shaking my head. "You don't need to apologize either. You've done more than I could possibly imagine. I'm sure had you and your team not been there, I'd be…." I trailed off my thought as my eyes filled with tears again.

"We were there and you're not…" I realized Ranger couldn't say the word either so I brought my eyes to meet his. What I saw staring back at me stopped my breathing. Emotions that I'd never seen before poured out of him. No one had ever looked at me the way he was and seeing the look of longing and love in his eyes, made me act without really thinking. Not even remembering where I was or who I was with, I leaned myself forward and gently placed my lips on his.

I think Ranger was shocked at first, but it only lasted a second. Before I knew it, I was wrapped in his arms as he took control of the kiss. When his tongue traced the seam of my mouth, I opened it willingly with a moan and about combusted when his tongue touched mine. My hands made their way up into his hair and my body had a mind of its own and plastered itself against him needing more contact.

Ranger's hands had just started their decent down my back when the clearing of a throat pulled us both back to reality. I pulled back from the kiss and looked deep into Ranger's dark eyes and then realized we were still in the car with an audience. I felt my face flame and turned around in my seat so I could bury my face in my hands. I heard chuckling from beside me and turned my head to glare at a smiling TJ. "Sorry, Steph. I was afraid if I didn't interrupt then the driver and I would have gotten a live porn show." Rolling my eyes I looked up into the rearview mirror and met the smiling eyes of the driver. I smiled back at him and then looked back down. For some reason, I couldn't find the courage to look at Ranger.

I got worried that I'd misread his look earlier and thought, maybe, he wasn't too pleased with me throwing myself at him. I started worrying my lip in between my teeth as I thought about what I wanted to say to him. After several quiet minutes, I felt a finger pop my lip out from between my teeth and looked up into the owner's eyes. The same look from earlier was there again and my worry's disappeared. "We're here, Babe. Santos just reported that Tommy is taking a nap in his office. Would you like to go there and see him first?"

There was no need to even think about the answer to that question. I simply nodded my head. "Yes, please. I need to see him." Ranger smiled at me and leaned in to brush my lips with his. I wanted him to take it further, but he pulled back all too soon and smiled at me again.

"Later, Babe. Let's go see Tommy and then you and I can talk." I smiled back and took his hand as he slid out of the SUV.

Taking a look around, I realize that we were in an underground garage. There was a fleet of black Ford Explorers on one wall and the other wall had a line of black cars and trucks that looked too expensive for me to even look at. At the front end of the row sat my dream car. A brand new Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet. It was black and shiny and the top was down do I got to see the buttery soft leather seats. I think I moaned because Ranger chuckled from behind me. "I'll let you take her for a spin sometime." I turned around and stared at him with wide eyes. There was no way he was going to let me drive a car worth $250,000.

Shaking my head, I turned away form the car and saw TJ waiting at the elevator with the driver. I walked up to him and stuck out my hand. "Hi, I'm Stephanie Plum-Orr. Thank you for getting me out of that situation so quickly Mr.…?"

The big black man smiled at me. "No mr. You can call me Tank. And I was just doing my job, ma'am, but it was my pleasure." I felt Ranger's presence behind me before he put his hand on my shoulder.

"I'll call you Tank as long as you never call me ma'am again. It's Stephanie or Steph. Ma'am always has me looking around for my mother." I couldn't suppress the shudder and heard the three guys chuckling.

Rolling my eyes, I stepped onto the elevator when it arrived. It rose directly to the fifth floor and I stepped aside when the door opened for Ranger to exit first since I had no idea which direction to go. Instead of stepping around me, he gently put his hand at the small of my back again and guided me off of the elevator.

The open floor plan of the office let me see everyone and everything going on. The second that Ranger stepped onto the floor, a calm washed over the men working. The few that looked at me gave me a slight nod and then went back to work. As Ranger and I walked toward back corner of the floor where I assumed the offices were, I heard TJ suck in a breath. I turned around to look at him and saw him staring at a latino man who was working at a computer. Ranger caught the look too. "That's Hector Gutierrez. He just came back from being in prison for a few weeks."

TJ furrowed his brow. "I know Hector but haven't heard from him in a while. I was starting to get worried. Why was he in prison?" It dawned on me that the man working for Ranger was TJ's boyfriend. They'd gotten together numerous times but TJ was hurt when Hector disappeared.

"He went on an assignment for me." Ranger looked at TJ, knowingly, and then at Hector. "He's a good guy. Why don't you go talk to him. If you're who I think you are, then he'll be happy to see you." TJ looked at me.

"Go. I'll be fine. I'll be in Les' office and then probably somewhere on this floor." I looked to Ranger who nodded. "I'll find you before we leave." TJ smiled and made his way over to Hector who looked shocked to see him standing by his desk. They talked for a few second and then Hector turned toward me and smiled. I gave him a wave and turned back to Ranger. "How cute is that. I haven't seen TJ smile like that for the past few weeks."

Ranger chuckled and put his hand at my back again. "Maybe that will put Hector back in a good mood. He wasn't too happy with how long he had to stay behind bars." I nodded and turned back toward the offices and let Ranger guide me back to where my son was.

My brush with death (if you want to call it that) was enough to make me really think about what's important in life. At that moment, Tommy was the most important thing to me and the only thing I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him.

Ranger lead me to a corner office and knocked on the closed door gently before opening it. Les was working on something on his computer and smiled when he saw me walk in the door. His smile faded when he noticed my blood-shot eyes and my puffy nose. I never was a good-looking crier and Les knew immediately that I'd been crying. He was about to ask, but I waved him off and walked directly to the small couch in the corner of his office. Tommy was sound asleep with a light blanket covering him. Without hesitating, I sat down and scooped him up in my arms. I didn't care that the experts say you were to never wake a sleeping child. I needed my son and nothing was going to stop me.

Tommy let out a little sigh and continued sleeping against me. I noticed Ranger and Les talking in whispers in the corner, but I didn't care what they were talking about. At that moment, I held the world in my arms and nothing else mattered.

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A/N - So there you have it. We'll find out some more about the players of this dangerous game in the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this installment.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **Not mine! I'm simply playing with them. hmmm...playing with Ranger! YUM!

You guys are the absolute greatest group of followers that an author can ask for. Words can not express how much I LOVE reading your reviews. They are what keeps my fingers flying over the keyboard (when I have time). Sorry this took so long to get out to you all, but life happens. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as this one did.

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**Chapter 13**

**RPOV**

There are often moments that you **know** are game changers. Times in your life that change not just who you are then,but they also change who you will become. Like when Rachel, my ex-wife, informed me she was pregnant. Game changer! I went from being a single guy with no worries or responsibilities, except to myself and the Army, to instantly having a soon to be wife and an unborn child to worry about. I may not have the relationship with Julie that I'd like to, but I'm still her father and I'm ultimately responsible for her well-being.

Another life altering event was the day my Commanding Officer told me he'd recommended me for Ranger School. I'd never had any intentions in going into the special forces but he saw something in me that I didn't and I am thankful every day for that recommendation. That intense training turned me into the man I am today and it was because of my work on those mission that I was able to start RangeMan. If it wasn't for that Commanding Officer, I would have probably never have met Stephanie.

The biggest game changer in my life, though, came the second Stephanie's lips met mine. I'd kissed a lot of women in my past and I even thought I was in love a time or two, but everything I thought I knew disappeared in that instant that her lips touched mine. The lies I'd told myself about being fine without commitments or a family melted and I knew right then, that my life would never be the same. I not only wanted a relationship with Stephanie, I wanted an entire life spent with her. I wanted to marry her and raise Tommy as my son. I wanted to have more children with her and I wanted to grow old walking hand in hand with her. And from the feelings I felt pouring out of her during that kiss, I knew she felt the same. That kiss was just that damn good.

During that kiss was the first time since I'd joined the Army that I was caught unaware of my surroundings. If TJ hadn't cleared his throat and interrupted us, I'd hate to think of what I would have done to Stephanie in that SUV. I wanted her naked and writhing under me and had we not had an audience, that's exactly where she would have been. As it was, though, I had to settle for a kiss that set my blood ablaze and gave me just a little taste of how good things could be between us. I vowed, after that kiss, to make damn sure that Stephanie Plum became a permanent fixture in my life. After she lost the Orr, of course.

Les knew the moment we walked into his office that something had happened so while Stephanie cradled her sleeping son, my cousin pulled me in a corner to drill me. "What the fuck happened? Why has she been crying?"

Letting out a sigh, I gave him the bad news. "Someone took a shot at her at the construction site. TJ and I got her out of harms way before the shooter had another chance to take a second shot, but the one he got off was either a warning or she just got damn lucky. An inch to the left and she wouldn't be here holding her son."

Les closed his eyes and then turned to look at Stephanie. She had positioned herself on her side holding Tommy close. We both could see the fresh tear tracks down her face and I know the beast inside me roared his ugly head. From the look on Les' face, his beast did the same. "We have to find these mother fuckers, Ranger. We have to find them before they kill her or Tommy. If it's the Mazeti's, then I'm going to personally make them suffer right before I end the Dick's life. I can't believe that mother fucker is just letting her walk around without even caring about her or his son's safety." Les looked at Stephanie again and then back at me. "I want full protection details on her at all times. I'll pay the contract fee, just make sure the guys know that she and Tommy are to be protected at all costs."

Glancing at Stephanie, I shook my head. "There will be a full protection detail on her at all times but you won't be paying for it. I will. I won't let anything happen to either one of them." Les looked at me intently before nodding. We continued talking a few more minutes until we saw Stephanie get off the couch and then heard Tommy's voice.

"Mommy, did Batman hurt you? You crying." Stephanie sniffled and chuckled.

"No, baby. Batman didn't hurt me." She looked directly into my eyes. "Batman saved me." I couldn't tear my eyes away from her crystal blue orbs. There was so much more in those three words she spoke and the truth was screaming at me from her eyes.

A sharp tug on my pant leg pulled my attention away from Stephanie and I bent down and picked Tommy up. He immediately wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me tight. I barely heard his tiny voice as he spoke against my skin. "Tank you for saving me mom. I no want to yuse her."

I hugged him tighter and instinctively kissed his head. "I'll always protect her, Robin. I don't want to lose her either." Tommy picked up his head and looked into my eyes. I could see the tears swimming behind his blue eyes and smiled at him. I wanted to talk to Stephanie about her husband's partners but didn't want to get into a serious discussion with Tommy around so I came up with an idea. "You know what, Robin? I have a housekeeper named Ella who was just telling me the other day that she needed help making cookies. Do you know of anyone who could help her?"

Tommy's eyes got wide and twinkled. "What kind of cookies?"

"I'm not sure, but does it matter? A cookie is a cookie, right?" I chuckled as I spoke and Stephanie stepped up next to me.

"Mommy, I help make cookies?" Stephanie raised her brow at me and smiled.

"I have a housekeeper named Ella who would probably love to have a helper for a few hours. There's some things we need to talk about with you and figured you'd want this little guy out of ear shot range." Stephanie sighed and nodded before turning to Tommy.

"I want you to be good, okay? Do whatever Ella tells you." Tommy smiled big and nodded. Stephanie kissed him before stepping back away.

"Les, can you run Tommy up to Ella's? I'm sure they will get along just fine for a few hours." Tommy wiggled out of my arms and ran up to Les.

"Yets go Es. I want cookie." Les chuckled, took his small hand and led him out of the office. Stephanie and I heard them chatting as they walked down the hallway and both had to laugh at the excitement in the little boys voice.

When the sound of the voices faded and we could no longer hear it, Stephanie turned to me and smiled. "I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for me and Tommy. You've gone above and beyond and I don't know how I'll ever….." I couldn't let her finish. There was something else that I wanted to do with our mouths so I cut off her sentence by puling her into me and crushing my lips onto hers. She hesitated for about half of a second before melting into me and moaning into my eager mouth.

My hands took on a mind of their own and moved down her back and cupped her ass, pulling her even closer to me. I knew the second she felt my hardness press into her because she whimpered into my mouth and rubbed her body against mine. It was almost like she was trying to crawl inside of me which is funny because inside of **her **was exactly where I wanted to be. Lifting her up by the perfect ass, I spun us around and pressed her back up against the wall of the office. Her long legs wrapped around me and I could feel her heat even through the layers of our clothes.

Getting lost, once again, in the passion swirling around us, I moved my lips off of hers and began kissing across her jaw and up to her ear. Stephanie panted and moaned at my ministrations and they only made me hunger for her more. She was so responsive and I could feel her whole body tremble with anticipation.

Stephanie whimpered when my hands left their place on her butt, but let loose a soulful moan when they worked their way under her shirt and met her heated flesh. Her skin was so soft and so smooth that my tongue ached to taste every inch of her, but that would have to wait because a very child-like giggle interrupted us. My hands stilled their forward movement when Tommy's little voice sounded in the room. "Mommy, what you do to Batman?"

Untangling herself from me quickly, Stephanie stood on wobbly legs and turned around. I could tell she had no idea how to answer her son's question so I did it for her. "Mommy had something in her eye she needed me to look at." Stephanie turned her head back and looked into my eyes. A gorgeous blush covered her creamy skin.

Lester snorted and started chuckling. I pinned him with a hard glare that stopped his chuckle. "What happened to Ella and the cookies, Robin?" Tommy got a sad look on his face.

"Ella wasn't home. Louis said she'd gone shopping and would be back in about an hour. Tommy wanted to know if he could watch the little TV's with Flamer." Les chuckled at the nickname and I raised my eyebrow in question. "Cal. Tommy calls the flaming skull Flamer."

Stephanie looked like she was totally lost in the conversation so I decided to enlighten her. "Cal is one of my employees. He has a flaming skull tattoo on his forehead. I guess he's watching the monitors right now and Tommy wants to sit with him. I'm fine with that if you are." She looked like she was warring with what to do. "I trust him Babe. Tommy will be fine." The thankful look she gave me made me smile.

"Okay, little man. How about you and I go see Cal and I'll ask him if you can sit with him." Tommy jumped up and down and did a little dance. Stephanie turned back to me. "Where are the monitors?" I stepped out the door to Les' office and pointed to the far front corner where the control room was. She gave me a smile and took Tommy's hand. Les and I both watched them walk down the hallway. When they were out of ear shot, Les turned to me.

"You didn't waste any time, did you?" I wanted to wipe the smug smirk off the bastards face, but I didn't. And even though I didn't owe him an explanation, I wanted to say something.

"I don't now what happened. One second we were talking and the next….well, you saw." Les laughed and slapped me on the shoulder.

"Yeah, man. I saw and I understand. She has a way of getting under your skin." Les turned and walked back into his office and I was thankful that he moved onto a work topic instead of what he'd just witnessed. "I'm going to call Bobby and Tank in here. Who else do you want in when we talk to Steph?"

"Call in everyone. I want the entire team here. Hopefully the guys still at the site will have some answers for me about the shooter. Find Stephanie's agent, TJ, too. He'll need to hear what's going on. Where is Tommy's agent? I haven't seen him since we got back."

"He's hanging out with Junior and Binkie. Turns out they were all in the Marines together. The last I saw him he was reliving the best jar head moments with his brothers. I'll bring him in too." I nodded and turned to the door when Stephanie stepped back in. She had a shocked expression on his face.

"He really does have a flaming skull tattoo on his forehead." Les chuckled from behind his desk and I couldn't help my lips from smiling at the awe in her voice. "And for being suck a big scary guy, he's really a sweetheart. Tommy doesn't trust many strangers, but he climbed right up in Cal's lap and asked for a bucking bronco ride."

Les started full-out laughing. "Don't let Cal hear you call him a sweetheart. He might let it go to his head." Stephanie rolled her eyes and turned to look at me.

"Are you ready to have this big talk with me? I want to get it done while Tommy is preoccupied." I glanced at Les who gave me a thumbs up. He'd taken it upon himself to call everyone into the large conference room. I knew we'd have to wait a few minutes for the guys in the field to get there, but it shouldn't take them long.

"We're ready, let's you and I head to the conference room. We'll wait for everyone to show up and then we'll get started." Stephanie gave me a heart stopping smile and took my offered hand.

"Lead the way, Batman." Smiling at her, I led her into the room where we waited for the rest of the team.

**SPOV**

It was standing room only in the large conference room and the guys squeezing in kept getting bigger and bigger. Looking at all of them, I assumed that muscled and gorgeous were requirements to work for Ranger. I felt a step below fugly sitting next to these guys. Ranger, sensing my mood, leaned over and whispered into my ear. "You're the sexiest one in the room. Don't ever doubt it, Babe." I turned to him and smiled. He sure was good for my ego and his warm breath on my ear was good for my hormones.

When the last man stepped into the room, Ranger squeezed my hand under the table and then stood up. "Report." His barking command made me jump, but he looked down and winked at me which made my panties melt off my body. I never thought a man winking at me was sexy until Ranger did it.

I don't know who it was, but one giant stood up and started talking so I turned my thoughts from sexy Ranger and listened to what his employee said. "We found the sniper's nest on the roof of a building a mile and a half away from the construction site." I felt Ranger tense beside me, but I didn't understand what the man said to make him so concerned. "The nest was clean, no prints, no shell casings. Video surveillance picked up a person, but no facial shots were recorded. The body type, though, suggests a woman." Ranger tensed more and I heard him curse under his breath. "There were no reports of gunfire at that time so we assume the rifle had a silencer equipped which makes the shot more than impressive."

The man sat down and I looked up at Ranger who had a dark look on his face. His words came out clipped and cold. "What else have we learned about the Families." I didn't know what he was talking about, but didn't want to ask any questions.

Another guy stood up and looked at me briefly before addressing Ranger. "We have a mole inside the Mazeti's. A guy owes me a favor and is willing to spill if we promise him protection. I told him it wouldn't be a problem and I'm meeting him later tonight. I'll report my findings to the team later tonight or tomorrow." I knew that name sounded familiar but I couldn't place where I'd heard it before. I was silently going through Dickie's acquaintances but none of them were matching up with the name.

After a few more details, the first guy down and Hector stood up. He smiled at me and then spoke in a heavy accented English. "The Families on the inside have joined together for the first time to take out the Governor. They all want him dead and have hired the best. Burrows was probably the shooter today." Ranger tensed again. "The boss of the Gambino family assured me, though, that the mark was just for the Governor. That is why I'm confused about today's shooting."

Hector sat down and Ranger stood back up. His posture was tense and his words, once again, cold. "Do we have the bullet from today?" No one spoke up and a few men shook their heads. Ranger cursed again. "And no one on the outer perimeter saw anything?" Silence again filled the room and a few men shook their heads.

Ranger stood quietly for a few minutes assessing the guys around him and then turned to look down at me. Immediately, his posture changed and his look softened. The words flowed out of his mouth like smooth silk. "Babe, what can you tell us about Jonathan and Donnatella Carrol?"

I wrinkled my nose at the mention of that name. "Donnatella Carrol is a gigantic bitch." A few of the guys chuckled but I ignored them and continued. "I've had to endure countless dinner parties and office functions with her. To your face, she's sweet as pie, but once your back is turned she turns into a the most hateful person. She and Dickie have had a thing going on for years. Her husband has approached me before, but I politely declined each time and did my best to stay away from him. There was just something about him that gave me the willies." Some of the guys chuckled again.

Ranger was even smiling when he spoke next. "Do you know anyone by the name Mazeti?"

I thought for a few minutes but still couldn't come up with how I recognized that name. "The name sounds familiar, but I can't put a face to it. Who are the Mazeti's and what does Donna and Jon have to do with what's going on?"

"Donnatella is the illegitimate daughter of Don Mazeti. He's the leader of the Mazeti crime family and currently the ONLY mob family operating in the state. Your husband put all of their competitors behind bars and never bothered to even investigate the Mazeti family." I furrowed my brow.

"Dickie's platform when he ran for DA was cleaning up the state from organized crime. He vowed to get rid of ALL of them. Why would he leave one out?" I asked the room and got blank stares in return.

"We're still building the big picture, but it seems that your husband's law partners are quite cozy with the Mazetis and we can guess that Dickie was pressured to leave them alone. We're also almost certain that they are the ones sending the pictures. We just don't know what the rules are your husband has to follow." I furrowed my brow again as Ranger spoke.

"Are they the ones who tried to kill me today?" I felt Ranger tense again and then his warm hand gripped mine under the table.

"Probably not. Dickie's association with the Mazeti family is only half the issue. The Families sitting in prison are quite pissed and have ordered a hit on the Governor. As far as we know, it doesn't include you or Tommy. I believe I know the person responsible for today and I plan on speaking with her soon." I wondered how Ranger knew a hit woman and felt slightly jealous of her. Not that I had any room to be jealous, though. Ranger didn't belong to me.

"What do these people want from me and how do we make them leave me alone? Dickie's not going to let me hide and I can't afford you guys around the clock. If this woman is as good as I assume she is, then I don't have a chance of surviving if they want me dead." I couldn't stop it, so a tear fell from my eye. Ranger reached over and flicked it away before cupping my face.

"We're not going to let anything happen to you. Give us a copy of your schedule and we'll do everything we can to protect you. We will NOT let today repeat itself." I looked into Ranger's eyes and saw the honesty and determination radiating from his chocolate-brown orbs.

I gave Ranger a smile and a nod and continued to watch the rest of the meeting. Ranger asked me to give him the details of my upcoming schedule. I gave him what information I could and promised to keep him fully informed when Dickie added or changed the plans.

After the meeting was over, Ranger dismissed the guys but he and I stayed behind. Les was the last one out the door and closed it behind him after giving us an over-exaggerated eye wiggle. I was giggling at Les' antics when Ranger turned my chair so I was facing him. His hand cupped my face and my eyes closed on their own as his thumbs brushed my cheek bones. "How are you doing with all this, Babe?"

"I"m not doing horribly for being shot at today. I feel safe here so I can relax." I closed my eyes and my voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't want to leave."

In a second, Ranger lifted me out of my chair and placed me in his lap. He turned me so I could look at him. "I don't want you to leave either, Babe, but I don't think you have much of a choice. If I could do something to free you from the prison you're in, I would do it in a heartbeat." Ranger leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. "I'd do anything for you."

We sat in silence, each one drawing strength from the other. I have no clue how long we sat there, but a timid knock on the door interrupted our silence. Ranger told whoever was outside to come in and when the door opened, Cal walked in carrying Tommy. The second he saw me, he squirmed to get down and ran to where I still sat in Ranger's lap. Lifting him up, I got Tommy comfortable. He smiled at me and then turned to look at Ranger. "What you doing?"

Ranger smiled back and touched the tip of Tommy's nose. "Your mommy and I were talking. What are you doing?"

Tommy looked intently at Ranger and I swear they held a silent conversation. Tommy smiled big and asked a most embarrassing question. "You yove my mommy?" My face flushed instantly. Leave it to my three-year old to play matchmaker.

Ranger didn't miss a beat in his answer and looked directly at me as he spoke. "I do love your mommy. She makes it hard **not** to love her." Ranger turned his attention back to Tommy and gave him a little tickle. "I love you too, Robin. You're a pretty cool kid."

Tears swam in my eyes at Ranger's confession. I'd never heard Dickie say that he loved Tommy and deep down I knew that he didn't really even like his own son. I got the feeling that Dickie didn't love anyone but himself. To hear Ranger say those words broke something in me. I realized, right then, that I felt the same about him. I hadn't known him long, but that didn't stop my heart from crying out for his.

Ranger and I stared into each other's eyes until Tommy's voice broke through our trance. "Mommy, Batman be my new daddy!" Something flashed in Ranger's eyes, but I didn't get to interpret it before it disappeared. My heart fluttered at the look and I said a silent prayer that one day Ranger would be Tommy's new daddy.

I could tell Ranger wanted to say something, but TJ and Trevor stepped into the room interrupting him. "Uh, Steph. Governor Orr just called and has demanded you and Tommy return to the mansion. The police are there and need to question you about what happened today." My heart fell but I simply nodded and let out a sigh. My time in my fantasy world was over and it was time to return to my husband.

"We'll be ready to leave soon. Can you guys go ahead and take Tommy down to the car? I'll be down soon." TJ gave me a sad look and nodded. Tommy hugged Ranger's neck, tightly, and I noticed Ranger whisper something in his ear that made Tommy smile. I watched my son bounce over to the secret service agents and then the three walked out of the room. Once again I was alone with Ranger.

"Thank you…." Ranger put a finger up to my lips and shhhed me.

"No price, Babe." My heart swelled as his lips replaced his finger. That kiss was gentle yet so full of emotion that it brought tears to my eyes. When Ranger pulled back, his eyes were wet too and he gave me a small smile. "Someday, Babe, you won't have to ever leave my side. Until then, know that I'm always here for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need it...all you have to do is call."

I nodded and started to stand up off his lap, but Ranger held on to me so I couldn't move. I could tell he wanted to say something, but was holding back for some reason. Cupping his face between my hands, I leaned in and kissed him gently before whispering very quietly. "I love you too."

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A/N - The next chapter is almost done. I just need to put some finishing touches on it and it will be out. Thank you all for your support and reviews of this story. They keep me writing!


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry this took so long to get out. I'm not totally happy with it, but instead of making you all wait longer, I decided to just publish it as is. Let me know what you think. :)

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**Chapter 14**

**RPOV**

Stephanie loves me? Holy fuck! How, why, when? Those were the thoughts racing through my mind in the moments after she whispered those three words that I never thought I wanted to hear. I had myself convinced that I didn't **need **to heart them. I was happy living my life without the complications of relationships or commitments. Except I wasn't really happy and I wasn't really living.

That is, before Stephanie Plum-Orr and her son came into my life, I was happy without those things. Hearing Tommy call me daddy and then hearing those three little words from Stephanie crumbled everything that I thought I knew and wanted. My life was incomplete without them in it and I refused to go back to living without them. After all of this mess was over, I would do anything I could to make Stephanie mine, permanently. To make that happen, though, I had to first save her life and in turn, save my life as well.

After Stephanie and Tommy left that evening, I sat down at my desk and called Jeanne Ellen Burrows. She was the go-to hit woman of some of the mob families in the state and I knew she was probably the one planning on taking out the Governor. As much as I didn't want to speak to her, I needed to find out if she had sights on Stephanie too.

Pulling out my satellite phone, I dialed her pager and waited for the call back. I knew it wouldn't take her long to get back to me because I had something that she wanted. Sure enough, my phone rang five minutes after sending her the page.

I answered the call with my normal greeting. "Yo."

"Ricardo," Jeanne Ellen's purr sent chills run through me. I really couldn't stand the woman. "It's so good to hear your voice. Are you ready to give me what I want?"

Another shudder. "Depends. You give me what I want and you'll get what you want."

"What is it you want, Ricardo?" I heard her moving around and it sounded like she was driving.

"Information. You've accepted a job from some 'Families' and I need to know what you can tell me." I left no room for negotiating or arguing in my voice. It was the voice that I thought I'd left behind when I left the Army. It was my 'don't fuck with me' voice.

"Not much to tell. The Gambino family is the one paying me and the mark is a high-profile target. I have to be careful and take him out in a public place too. They want the message sent to the Mazetis that politics shouldn't be bought. If I do the Governor, then old man Gambino gave me the go ahead to take out Antonio Mazeti too." Jeanne Ellen was usually a little more tight-lipped, so it shocked me when she shared so much with me but she wasn't answering my unasked questions.

"What about the shot you took today?" My voice was still hard because I needed answers.

I heard her sigh and mutter a curse. "Today wasn't me. I have no interest in the woman or her kid. My target is the Governor and then Mazeti. The wife has her own contract out on her head." My blood ran cold. If it wasn't Jeanne Ellen shooting at Stephanie today, then I had no idea who it could have been.

"You haven't heard of anyone knew coming to the area? The intel from today showed the shooter was a woman." Jeanne Ellen scoffed.

"I haven't heard and if it is a woman, then she'll need to watch out for me. I don't like other people overstepping into my territory." I had to smile at that thought. A hit woman cat-fight. Hopefully they'd kill each other at the same time. "I'll dig around and see what I can find out for you, but it will cost you."

"Name your price." I cringed inwardly to hear what she wanted, but if it meant keeping Stephanie and Tommy safe then I would do it in a heart beat.

"Tempting Ricardo, but you don't have what I really want." I cocked my eyebrow, but she couldn't see that but I guess she understood my silence because she laughed. "Please, Ricardo, you're not that amazing to turn a gay girl straight."

I was shocked. I had no idea that Jeanne Ellen was gay. The way she usually threw herself at me the few times we'd worked together led me to believe she wanted me. I never let it happen because she wasn't attractive to me. She was the female version of myself. I had no desire to sleep with her.

"So tell me what you want and I'll make it happen." I was done playing her games and needed answers.

"I'll find out what you want to know, but I'm going to keep this favor you owe me tucked away. There may come a time when I need your services. Remember that, and we'll be square." I let out a breath of relief.

"Anything you need, just let me know. The sooner you get the information to me, the better. The Governor's wife and son are under my protection and I don't like knowing where the threat is coming from." Jeanne Ellen whistled and then chuckled.

"Under your protection, huh? Is this business or personal, Ricardo?" Jeanne Ellen's voice was mocking and I didn't like it.

"Business and leave it at that. You have my number when you get information. Use it." I waited a brief second to hear her sound of acknowledgment before ending the call. I was a little pissed that I hadn't learned any information and we were still at a loss at who took the shot at Stephanie. I didn't like not knowing things.

I was still sitting in my office hours later when Zero knocked on my door. I motioned him in and called Tank, Bobby and Les into the office. Whatever he'd learned from his snitch, I wanted everyone to hear it together. Once we were all in my office with the door closed, I barked my command. "Report."

Zero didn't look too happy with his information. "My snitch was a treasure trove of information. The Mazetis are working very closely with a New York family, by the name Grizolli. The niece of Vito Grizolli grew up in Trenton and is helping the two Family's communicate."

Les looked at me confused and I returned the look. "What does this have to do with Stephanie?" Zero sighed and shook his head.

"The niece, Terry, has her sights on the Governor. Vito want her as the new first lady and has ordered Terry to take Stephanie out. It wasn't Jeanne Ellen we got on tape today, it was Terry. She's not as good as Burrows, but she's still good." I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a small sigh. An unprofessional, bad hitman was worse than a good one, in my opinion. "That's not the worse part of it, though."

I glared at my employee and raised my eyebrow for him to continue. "The Governor is a complete puppet. The Mazeti Family and the Grizolli Family are manipulating every decision and they're the ones really running this state. The 'rules' the Governor is supposed to follow are pretty ridiculous too and this is where the two families differ. Vito wants Terry as the new wife and want Tommy and Stephanie taken out, preferably publicly. The Mazetis, though, want the Governor to knock up Stephanie again. They want MORE kids to appease the majority of the voters. Mazeti really respects Stephanie and thinks she's perfect as the first lady. Grizoli, well...he gives his niece whatever she wants. The Governor has no idea what to do because he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't."

"Fuck!" Les' voice broke through the office and I agreed with his sentiment.

Zero nodded and continued. "Both Families want the Governor as the front-runner for the next presidential election. They have the money and the backing to make it happen too. The only question is which wife he's taking with him to the White House. The Grizollis are the dominate Family so I'm guessing they'll win in the end. The Governor doesn't really care about his wife and son so he won't argue with them. I think he'd prefer it if they were dead."

"Fuck!" Les said again and this time, I joined in shouting the common curse word in a very uncharacteristic out burst for me.

Silence fell over the office as we all digested the information we'd just learned. I didn't like any of it. Stephanie and Tommy were right in the line of fire and I wanted them out of it, ASAP. I just didn't know how to do that. "So what exactly do we do? Aside from taking out the heads of both of those Families, how do we get them to back off Stephanie and Tommy?"

Zero looked at me with a raised brow. "I thought our contract was to find out the threat to the Governor. Why are we worried about his wife?" Les and I both growled and Zero got the message loud and clear. Holding up his hands, he started to back out of my office. "I'll keep my snitch happy and will let you guys know if anything else comes up."

I glared at my employee until he was out of the office and the door was closed. The office was silent once again until Bobby spoke up. "What if we talk to the Vito Grizolli. If we tell him that Stephanie wants out of the marriage so his Terry can take her spot, would that make him back off?"

Tank shook his head. "Sadly, that would make it worse. They want Dickie as the next president, right?" We all nodded. "That won't happen with a divorce under his belt. The country is too Christian oriented. His opponent will have a field day with that and Dickie will never win the election. If his loving wife died, well…sympathy votes go a long way and if he loses his son too...the election will be over before it really starts." Tank let out a sigh and shook his head again. "Stephanie and Tommy are in serious trouble."

Les and I looked at each other with pained expressions. "So all we can really do is protect Stephanie and Tommy while they're out in public." Tank shrugged and nodded slightly. "Then I want all the information I can get on Terry Grizolli and her God damn uncle. If I have to personally go to war with the mob, I'll do it to keep Stephanie and Tommy safe. I'll do anything to keep them safe."

"You realize going up against the mob is a death sentence, right?" Bobby looked at me with a raised brow.

"I'm aware, but it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is keeping Stephanie and Tommy alive and I would stare down satan himself to make that happen." I leaned forward on my desk and looked each man in the eye. "I don't expect you guys to follow me though. This isn't your fight, it's mine and I will understand if you want to walk away. This isn't business, this is personal so your jobs will all be secure."

Tank and Bobby glanced at each other and smirked while Les smiled at me before speaking. "You know I'm with you. I refuse to let you have all the fun. Plus, I knew Stephanie first and I love her too. I refuse to stand back and let her and Tommy get taken from me."

I gave Les a nod and looked at Tank. He didn't hesitate to answer me. "We've been through some shit together and I'll be with you on this. I see how important Stephanie and Tommy are to you, so they're important to me. We'll save your girl." Tank, my long time friend and partner, nodded to me. I was actually relieved to have him behind me. He and I had gotten out of some tough spots together and I trusted him more than anyone to have my back.

Bobby was the last one to speak, and I could tell he was debating his options. He was a healer and hated getting into situations where he'd have to take a life. I knew that about him but also knew he hated when innocent people were in danger. Especially children. I saw the answer in his eyes before he ever opened his mouth. "Fuck, I'm in. I'm not letting that sick mother fucker hurt Stephanie or Tommy. He's a really cool kid and from what I've seen of her, Stephanie is pretty amazing too."

I smiled at my three closest friends and knew that with them in my corner, there was no way I could fail. Stephanie and Tommy would be perfectly protected and we would take out the threats to them before anything could happen. That's the way it had to happen because that was the only outcome I would accept.

**SPOV**

The cops and Dickie were waiting for me when I got back to the mansion. Thankfully, Lula was also there ready to take Tommy to his room. I didn't want him exposed to the questions I knew were coming my way. He wasn't around for the shooting and it wasn't like the cops were going to ask a three year old questions.

Once we all were safely tucked away in the conference room attached to Dickie's office, the cops got down to business. "Tell us what transpired today, Mrs. Orr, and don't leave any details out." The older of the two cops appeared to be the one in charge and glared at me as he demanded my statement.

I gave them the play-by-play as accurately as I remembered it. I felt Dickie's rage ramp up when I mentioned Tommy going with Les to a building off site. I knew I'd be facing his wrath later in the evening after the cops left but I couldn't find it in me to care. He couldn't hurt me too bad and if it meant that Tommy was safe, then it was worth it.

After I'd given the cops my statement and told them to call Ranger for any further details, they excused themselves and Trevor escorted them out. TJ stayed in the room until Dickie glared at him. "Your service is no longer required. My wife will contact you tomorrow **if **she decides to leave the mansion." Dickie turned back to me. "Although I think she's going to be a little too sore to leave. I foresee a terrible fall in her future." TJ growled but I gently shook my head to tell him it wasn't worth it. I would feel terrible if he lost his job because of me.

Tj gave me a sad look before sliding out of the conference room. When the door clicked close, Dickie's open palm met my cheek. "You stupid bitch, " he spat with spittle flying out of his mouth. "How dare you send our son to spend time with a criminal. What are you trying to do, get him killed?"

I snapped my head and glared at him. "How dare you. I'm protecting him. You're the one sending him out in public, praying and wishing that a shooter comes and kills him. You put us in danger while you sit in your office doing God knows WHO. Les isn't a criminal and he would die protecting YOUR son."

He slapped me again but I immediately turned my cold eyes back to him. "You can hit me all you want, Dickie, but I'm not going to break. I will ALWAYS protect my son and I will ALWAYS put his life ahead of mine." Dickie growled as he approached me again. His eyes blazed with anger and his look should have frightened me, but it didn't.

When I didn't back down or cower from his aggression like I normally did, Dickie took a step back and glared at me. "Mamma bear Stephanie has come out to play. I remember thinking at one point that she was hot, but right now you disgust me."

"The feeling is mutual, Dickie, but that's nothing new. You've always disgusted me." Dickie glared at me again but didn't approach me.

Instead, he shook his head and turned around to head back toward his office. "You're dismissed. Tomorrow you've got nothing scheduled so plan on staying here. The cops and secret service are taking your assassination attempt seriously." With that, Dickie slammed the door dividing the two rooms and left me standing there alone.

I immediately let out a sigh of relief and about collapsed on the floor as the adrenaline left my body but, luckily for me, TJ had come back into the room and caught me before I hit the floor. "Come on Steph. Let's get you to your room. I'm proud of you for not backing down to him. You stood your ground." I gave TJ a small smile as he walked me through the mansion toward my suite.

Once I was safely inside and alone, I let the day catch up to me and I sank down on the floor by my door and cried until my phone ringing interrupted my tears. Looking at the Caller ID, I smiled seeing Ranger's name flash on my screen. I sniffed the tears away as I answered the call with a weak, "Hi."

His voice was full of concern when he spoke. "Babe, are you okay?"

"I am now that I got to hear your voice." I spoke through my tears and heard my voice hitch a few times. I knew Ranger would know that I'd been crying.

I heard Ranger let out a small sigh. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

There was just something about Ranger that made me want to spill my secretes to him. It was like he could see the truth inside of me but still wanted me to tell him. He wanted me to trust him enough to tell him everything. "Same old, same old. Dickie wasn't happy that I sent Tommy with Les and he did what he always does."

"And what does he always do, Babe?"

I shrugged and let a few more tears fall. I felt so weak and I hated that I let Dickie abuse me like he was. "It was just a few slaps tonight. I've had much worse and I didn't let him intimidate me tonight like I normally do. I refused to back down or cower to the son of a bitch."

Ranger chuckled and hearing that sound made me smile. "Proud of you, Babe. Even though I want to kill that son of a bitch for hurting you, I'm glad you didn't back down to him." I smiled at Ranger's sentiment. I didn't know why, but his words made me feel invincible.

After a few minutes of just listening to each other breath, Ranger spoke again. "We're going to fix this, Babe. We'll stop the threats against you and Tommy and we'll figure out a way to get you away from Dickie."

Tears once again filled my vision. He sounded so hopeful but I knew better. "He's never going to let me go, Ranger."

Ranger's voice was a little louder than normal and came out almost like a growl. "He has to because I don't share and I want you as mine."

I smiled at that confession but it also made my heart ache. As much as I wanted to be Ranger's, it would probably never happen. Instead of arguing with him about my shitty situation, I changed the subject. "So what are you doing tonight? Any big plans?"

"No plans. Just laying in bed talking to you. I wanted to hear your voice before going to sleep." If my life were a sitcom, the audience would have yelled, 'awweee' at that moment. As it was, my heart fluttered, my stomach flip-flopped and a surge of lust filled bravery filled me.

"So you're in bed huh? What are you wearing?" I totally didn't recognize my own voice. It was deep and husky and sounded like one you'd hear dialing a 900 number.

I could hear the chuckle in Ranger's voice when he answered, but his tone, too, dropped to a deep rumble. "I'm wearing what I always where to bed, Babe. Nothing."

An image of a naked Ranger sprawled out on his bed flashed through my mind and just that thought alone made my nipples instantly hardened and panties instantly soaked. That man could have my engine primed and ready to go with just a few words. Even though I didn't mean to, I must have moaned because Ranger chuckled again and I could hear the humor in his words. "You do the same things to me, Babe. I would describe to you my state, but I don't think you're ready for that just yet."

A blush covered my face realizing I'd spoken my thoughts out loud but it suddenly disappeared as a wave of lust filled me again. I wanted to hop in my car and drive back to RangeMan. I wanted to see first hand what exactly his state was. "You'd be surprised what all I can handle, but instead of you describing it to me, I'd much rather like to see it….and taste it."

Ranger groaned and I caught a whispered, "Dios." I'd been around Les enough to know that that word meant God. I guess I was pushing his limits tonight. I chuckled into the phone, "The feeling is mutual, Batman."

The sound of Ranger chuckling broke some of the sexual tension between us and even though I was slightly disappointed, I was also a little relieved. Ranger was right, I wasn't ready to handle **that** just yet. I really shouldn't tease him, but it was just too much fun.

Thankfully, Ranger turned the conversation back to business. "Are you still planning on staying at the mansion tomorrow or did your husband give you a new schedule?"

"Nothings scheduled, so I guess I'm stuck here. Maybe Tommy and I can stay inside and watch movies all day. My next scheduled outing isn't until next Wednesday. I'll let you know if anything changes though." I sighed and dropped my head. The stress from the day was finally leaving my body and I realized that I was extremely tired.

Ranger must have heard the exhaustion in my voice. "Get some sleep, Babe. I'll call you tomorrow and see how you're holding up. Don't worry about anything, Stephanie. I'll protect you."

"I know you will, Ranger. Thank you for calling tonight. Just hearing your voice calms me more than anything."

"The feeling is mutual, Babe. Sleep well and I'll talk to you tomorrow. I…"

Ranger pausing caused me to smile. I knew what he wanted to say and I decided to let him off the hook. "I know Ranger and I love you, too. Goodnight."

After saying goodnight, I ended the call and let out a long sigh. I had no clue what I was doing flirting with Ranger. I knew I loved him and I felt that he loved me too, but I was a married woman and there was no sign of Dickie letting me go. A tear escaped my eye knowing that I'd finally found my one true love, but there was no way I was able to actually be with him. I was forever stuck in a loveless marriage and nothing short of my husband death would ever end my misery.

A/N - I can't thank you all enough for your reviews. Sometimes I want to just give up with the writing but then I think of you all left hanging and I keep going. I will finish this story because you all are counting on me. Thanks again for all your kind words.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **Still not mine.

Okay...so just wanted to let you all know how much I love you! You really blew me away with all the reviews and kind words. I tried to respond to each of you individually, but if I missed you or you were a guest review...please know that every single one of your reviews made me smile and kicked my muse into gear to get this chapter done and posted today. You guys are awesome and I couldn't ask for a better group of followers!

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**Chapter 15**

**SPOV**

Hours after hanging up with Ranger that night, I was laying in my bed trying to calm my racing thoughts and hormones when a sound from the corner of my room had me sitting up and looking for the source of the noise. A tingle ran up my spine and made my nipples harden in anticipation. There was only one man who affected me like that but there was no way he was in my room.

My voice wavered as I whispered into the quiet darkness. "Ranger?" I almost screamed when he stepped out of the shadows and walked toward my bed. He was wearing his standard black uniform and he had his lips turned up in a small smile.

"Babe." That one word, whispered, from those luscious lips sent a rush of lust through me. I should have been scared, but I wasn't. I was incredibly turned on.

"What are you doing here and how exactly did you get in here?" Ranger chuckled and sat beside me on my bed. He brushed some stray curls away from my face and then leaned down to give me a small kiss on the lips. The kiss wasn't innocent but it wasn't full of passion either. Yet, it still had me craving more of him.

When he pulled away, Ranger looked just as affected by the kiss as I was. Smiling, he answered both of my questions. "I wanted to see you and I'm a security expert so I can get into just about anywhere I want." Cupping my face in his giant hand, he leaned down and whispered against my lips, "Besides...nothing can keep me away from you, Babe."

At his confession, I raised up my head slightly and fused our lips together in a passionate kiss. It still wasn't enough and I needed more of him. So I pulled him down on top of me and moaned when I felt how hard his body was over mine. Every inch of him was hard and felt amazing pressing me down into the soft bed.

Before I knew what was happening, Ranger had removed the covers that were over me and was in the process of pushing up my T-shirt. His warm hands on my skin caused my blood to ignite in my veins. As his hands worked their way up my stomach to my very eager breasts, his lips worked their way down from my lips and settled on the tender flesh above my pulse point. I was about to spontaneously combust right then and there. But I instead let out a long, low, moan of appreciation. I could feel Ranger smile against my skin as he continued his assault.

His voice was husky when he spoke. "Something tells me you like this, Babe." I moaned again as his thumbs brushed ever so lightly against my tight nipples. I couldn't help arching my back so I could feel more of him.

Ranger chuckled which only served to frustrate me more. My hormones were screaming and didn't like the teasing. "I need more, Ranger. Please." Those five words escaped my mouth in a breathy plea and caused Ranger to growl and quickly remove my T-shirt from my body. His hungry mouth met mine again, but only briefly. All to soon he left my lips and started working his way down my body.

As his lips moved further down, his hands followed the decent and as Ranger's lips latched on to one of my breasts, his finger toyed with the top of my lace panties. His eyes locked with mine, almost asking permission to go further but he didn't need to ask. I would have given him anything at that moment. Since I was so far gone in my lust, I couldn't form words so all I did was whimper and nod my consent.

Smiling against my skin, once more, Ranger began to pull my panties off my body at a painstakingly slow pace. He had to remove his mouth from my skin to pull them off completely and as he stood off the bed, he looked at my naked body intently. The moon shining in my window provided enough light for him to see me and for me to see him. Feeling self-conscious, I tried to cover myself, but Ranger's hard body covered mine again and his hands roughly pulled my arms above my head and held them there.

"Don't ever hide yourself from me, Babe. You're beautiful." The husky whisper sent chills down my body and made my stomach turn to goo.

Bending his head again, he peppered my face with gentle kisses and said only one word in-between pecks. "Beautiful."

By the time he settled his kisses in between my legs, I was ready to come unglued. I couldn't even form a coherent thought let alone give permission, so when Ranger looked up my body once again all he got was a frantic nod. I needed him more than I'd ever needed anyone and his smirk told me that he read my desperation loud and clear.

Keeping his eyes locked on me, Ranger lowered his mouth and I just knew I was about to scream in ecstasy when a little voice broke through my lust filled haze. "Mommy? I had bad dream."

I was immediately alert and frantically searching for my shirt when I realized I was still wearing it. Ranger was gone and I was alone in my bed. Disappointment flooded me when I realized I'd dreamed the entire thing. Except my son's interruption, that is.

When I didn't answer right away, I felt him climb up into my bed and snuggle down next to me. His face was wet with tears that I quickly kissed away before pulling him closer. "Do you want to talk about your dream, baby? Sometimes it helps." My voice was still a little shaky from the erotic dream, but I was able to school it enough so It sounded calm and concerned instead of breathy and horny.

I felt Tommy shudder and felt fresh tears soak into the fabric of my shirt. "I dreamed daddy hurt you. He had a boom stick and you went to sweep and didn't wake up."

That was the first night Tommy talked to me about his dreams in detail. He normally just said a scary man hurt him or hurt me. That night, Tommy dreamt that Dickie shot and killed me. Fear fluttered through me thinking about the possibility that Dickie could be the cause of all the danger facing me. I made a mental note to talk to Ranger the next day about my husband.

My heart ached for my little boy and I wanted him to feel better so I said the best thing I could. "It was just a dream, baby. I'm here and nothing is going to happen to me, okay?" Tommy nodded but continued to cry. "You want to sleep in here with me for the rest of the night?" He nodded again, so I kissed his head and snuggled down into the bed holding my favorite little guy in the world. Before going to sleep, I prayed that I could keep that promise.

The next day, I got a remarkable surprise. Dickie had to go to Washington for some important meetings and would be gone for the next three days. He packed his bags and took a team of agents with him and left Tommy and I alone at the mansion. Since it wasn't home to me, I packed our bags and decided to go to our house in Newark. I knew Tommy missed his normal room and all of his favorite toys. I also kind of figured he'd sleep better there.

After talking to TJ and Trevor about securing the house, I called Ranger. I had the best security system around, but I still wanted him to know my plans. I got his voicemail so I left him a brief message. "Hey Ranger, this is Stephanie. I just wanted to let you know that Tommy and I are going to be staying at the house in Newark for the next few days. Dickie is out of town and I feel more comfortable there than anywhere. Les has the address if you need it for anything. TJ and Trevor are accompanying me and will be staying on site, so don't worry. Call me if you need anything."

With that call completed and our bags packed, I loaded Tommy and the guys up in the car and we headed to the house.

**RPOV**

Dios, what that woman could do to me. I called her that night, just to see how she was and the second she answered her phone, I knew something was wrong. I could hear the pain and tears in her voice. After she'd told me what her husband had done, it took all of my willpower not to drive over there and kick that man's ass. How he could hit her and treat her like shit was a mystery to me. Women are meant to be cherished and adored. Especially a woman like Stephanie and I intended to treat her exactly that way when she became mine.

Just from hearing her voice, I was already semi-aroused but when she started flirting with me, the semi became full-fledged raging hard-on. I about came right then and there when she said she wanted to taste me. The feeling was mutual and the images flooding my mind did nothing to curb my hunger for her. After we said goodnight, I had to take care of my not so little problem just like I did when I was a teenager. Of course it didn't help.

That night, I had the most vivid dream of being with Stephanie. I broke into her room at the mansion and made love to her all night long. When I woke up the next day, I could still taste her on my tongue and could still hear her moans of pleasure. My erection was back and almost painful. Even after a cold shower and another round of my hand, it was a little better but still not completely gone. I knew nothing short of being inside the woman I loved would satisfy me.

Later that morning, I was in my office dealing with an angry account holder over the phone when my cell flashed Stephanie's call. I was immediately at attention and wanted to answer her the phone, but the man I was talking to was one of our best customers and he was upset about a break-in at his property. Since I didn't want to lose his business, I let Stephanie's call go to voice mail and continued to smooth his ruffled feathers.

Two hours later, I had not only smoothed those feathers, I also got him to sign another three-year contract for a better security system for his home and his business. In that two hours, I made my company millions of dollars. I was that damn good at my job.

With the client taken care of, I sat back at my desk and listened to Stephanie's message. I wasn't happy that she was going to be at such an unguarded location so after I'd listened to her message for a second time - yes, I know that's lame - I called Les into my office. Since I didn't usually call him in unless he was in trouble, he walked through my door with a curious look on his face.

"I swear to you Ranger; it was Cal's idea. He was the one who said we should take out that ad. Had I know how it would…." Les paused at my raised eyebrow when he figured out that I had no idea what he was talking about. "You don't know about that, do you?" I crossed my arms over my broad chest and sat back in my chair.

Not one to be intimidated by me, Les mocked my position but couldn't erase the smirk from his face. Whatever he'd done, it must have been good. I made a mental note to find out later what exactly it was.

After a few minutes of a stare down with neither of us giving, Les finally let out a sigh and dropped his arms. "Fine, if you didn't call me in here about that…..um, situation, then what did you call me in here for. Is everything okay with Steph?"

Realizing I needed him for information, I dropped my arms and relaxed my pose to ask him about Steph's house. "Everything is fine with her, I think. She left me a message a few hours ago saying she was going to her house in Newark for a few nights since the ass is out of town. She also said you could give me the address, but I was more curious about the security there. What can you tell me?"

My cousin smiled at me knowingly. "You have the address in your computer." Les chuckled at my raised eyebrow and continued. "She's been a client since her and the Dick bought that house. Dickie didn't want security, but Steph did so her dad pays for it and the contract is actually under his name. Look up Francis Plum in your computer and you'll have the details of the account and the address. I set her up with the best we offer so the house is secure. Did she say if TJ and Trevor are staying with her?"

I typed the name into my computer and pulled up the account as I nodded my head at his question. Les continued to talk as I skimmed the details of the house's security. It was surpassingly really good. Les had given her father a huge discount on the contract price too. "If they're there, then she and Tommy will be perfectly safe. Maybe I'll even stop by later tonight…"

Even though I knew he was joking, I couldn't contain the growl from escaping my throat. Just the thought of Les being with Stephanie again had me ready to pound him into the dirt. My aunt would be upset, but she would soon forget about her only son, right?

Les' laughter broke me out of my homicidal thoughts. "Relax, Ric. She's yours. I think **you** should go over there tonight. Tommy usually goes to bed around eight-thirty and then Steph usually drinks a glass of wine before turning in and she usually really likes company. Take over a pizza for dinner and enjoy your evening. I'll take the emergency calls for you so you don't have to worry about anyone disturbing your.… ahem, evening." I had to roll my eyes at my cousin's exaggerated eye brow wiggle. He only had one thing on his mind and it wasn't work.

As perverted as my cousin was, though, he gave me a good idea. I hadn't taken an evening off in a long time and spending time with Stephanie and Tommy was exactly what I wanted to do with my free time.

Giving Les a nod, I smiled. "I think I'll do just that. Thanks for handling the calls." With another nod and eye brow wiggle, Les smiled and left my office. I still had a stack of paperwork to get through before I could leave, and I wanted it done as soon as possible. For the first time since starting the business, my heart and head wanted to be somewhere else besides at my office.

By five o'clock, my desk was clear and I was headed to Pino's to pick up dinner. I hadn't called Stephanie to see if it was okay that I came over, but Les told me not to worry about it. He thought surprising her would be spontaneous and romantic which where two things that I wasn't.

I smiled when I found the house and saw TJ positioned in the drive way, blocking the path, and guarding the house. He was a good agent and took his job seriously. I rolled down my window and got a smile from the younger man. "Mr. Manoso. I don't have you on my list of visitors. Does Steph know you're coming?"

"No. She left me a voicemail earlier saying she was here and I thought I'd surprise her and Tommy. I hope that's okay." Doubts suddenly filled my mind and I wondered if she really was there for some privacy. Lord knows she didn't get it staying at the Governor's mansion.

TJ's smile grew as he looked at me. "Well, if she left you a voicemail then she was hinting for you to meet her here. Steph doesn't usually tell anyone when she stays here. You, Les and Lula are the only ones that I've ever seen welcome here since she's become the first lady. I don't even think her parent's know about this place."

That thought made me smile. She trusted me more than a whole lot of people in her life. TJ gave me another knowing smile and moved the black Lincoln out of my way so I could make my way up the rest of the drive.

Parking in front of the rather large house, I grabbed the food and headed toward the front door. TJ must have notified Trevor because I didn't even have to knock. He was standing at the open door smiling at me. "Mr. Manoso, good to see you again. Steph and Tommy are upstairs in his room. Since you're in the house, I'll head out and guard with TJ. Let us know if you need anything."

Trevor didn't wait for my response before slipping out of the door and leaving me standing in the entry way, dumbfounded. I had no idea what the layout of the house was, so I just started walking until I found the kitchen.

Depositing the food on the counter, I made my way upstairs and followed the little voice down the hallway to what was obviously a toddler's room.

Batman posters hung on the wall and his little bed was even covered with the Dark Knight's picture and logo. Tommy was laying on the floor with a Batman action figure and Stephanie had what looked like a Wonder Woman action figure. From the scene on the floor, I could tell that Wonder Woman was in trouble and Batman was having to rescue her.

Neither of them knew I was watching and it wasn't until Tommy rolled over to grab another toy that he saw me. When his eyes met mine, the smile on his face grew and he stood up and ran up to me screaming, "BATMAN!"

Tommy jumped up into my arms and I chuckled as he wrapped his little arms around my neck and gave me the biggest hug I'd ever received. I couldn't help from kissing his head and whispering in his ear, "Hey Robin."

Stephanie quickly turned and looked surprised to see me, but immediately smiled, stood up off the floor and walked toward me. "What are you doing here?" When Stephanie reached my side, she stood on her tip toes and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "TJ and Trevor are here so we're perfectly safe. You didn't have to come."

"I know you're safe, but I wanted to take an evening off and wanted to see you two. I hope that's okay." Stephanie smiled again and rubbed Tommy's back. I decided to take the opportunity to tell her about dinner too. "A little birdy also told me that you love Pinos Pizza so there is an extra-large pie downstairs waiting to be devoured."

I honestly don't know who was more excited; Tommy or Stephanie. Both sets of eyes glazed over and I swear both of their stomach growled at the same time. It was Tommy who spoke first. "Mommy. Batman bringed us pizza. He my hero."

I started laughing at the absolute certainty in the little boys voice and Stephanie soon joined me. "He's my hero too, baby. Why don't we all go eat and we can talk about our hero more."

Giving Stephanie my full smile, her laughter stopped and her eyes glazed over for a completely different reason. As she walked out the door, I thought I heard her mutter, "Damn. There goes those panties." Chuckling, I followed her out the door and down the hallway still carrying Tommy in my arms.

Dinner that evening was amazing. It was the first time, that I can remember, that I laughed and talked the entire way through a meal. Tommy kept us entertained with a story of what he saw on Spongebob. Apparently Patrick did something that Tommy thought was hysterical so he had to stop and laugh after each word that he said. Stephanie and I couldn't hold back our laughter either, so all three of us were practically out of breath from laughing so hard by the time Tommy finished his tale. My heart was nearly exploding in my chest from the feelings surging through it.

Sitting at the table with Tommy and Stephanie, I realized how much I'd missed out on with my own daughter. I'll never regret my decision to allow Ron to adopt Julie, but I'll regret missing so much of her life. I could have distanced myself from her yet still maintained some contact. I only saw her maybe twice a year and talked to her maybe once a month. I decided that night that maybe I needed to put more of an effort out there. I wanted Julie to meet Stephanie and Tommy and I wanted us all to be a family. That would be hard with her in Miami, but I could make it work. I had a private plane.

After dinner, Stephanie sent Tommy and I to the living room to play as she cleaned up the kitchen. Tommy was showing me some wrestling moves and landed awfully close to my gun on my hip when he jumped on me. Since I didn't want him getting hurt, I asked him to wait a moment so I could remove the weapon. I had two others on my body, so it wasn't like it was necessary and I was just going to put the Glock on top of the TV so Tommy couldn't reach it.

The second I pulled it out of its holster, I knew I'd done something wrong. Tommy's eyes grew wide and filled with tears and his skin turned pale. I was about to reach for him when he took of running up the stairs and a few seconds later, I heard a door slam. Stephanie came into the living room at that moment with concerned eyes. "Where did Tommy go?"

I didn't know what happened so I told her what I could. "I think he ran up to his room. I might have scared him when I took off my gun. He was wrestling with me and I didn't want him getting hurt."

Stephanie's brows furrowed more and she turned to head upstairs, but something told me that I should be the one to talk to him. After all, it was me who scared him.

Placing my hand on her arm, I stopped her progress toward the stairs. She turned around and looked at me. "Can I talk to him Babe?"

I could tell Stephanie was thinking about my request and I let out an internal sigh of relief when she nodded. "Okay, but yell if you need me. I'll be right down here."

Smiling, I kissed Stephanie on the forehead and headed upstairs. Tommy's door was the only one shut so I figured that's where he went. Walking into his room, I didn't see him but I heard a sniffle come from under his bed.

Even though I'm a bigger guy, I still crawled part-way under his small bed and found him laying with his head covered and tears streaming down his face. I softened my voice so I wouldn't scare him and spoke in an almost whisper. "Hey Robin. Why are you hiding under the bed, buddy? What happened?"

Turning his face to me, Tommy looked at me with sad eyes. "You have boom stick. I sawed that hurt mommy so it scare me."

"Buddy, I'd never hurt your mommy. I love her too much to hurt her so you don't have to be scared about that." I reached a hand out and wiped a tear off his face.

"You no hurt mommy. Daddy hurt mommy with boom stick and she no wake up and then daddy hurt me with it. I no yike them. They scare me." Tommy's voice broke again and fresh tears poured out. I didn't want to know why Tommy was seeing his father hurt Stephanie with a gun, but if I found out that Dickie even pointed one at her or him…no one would find his body, ever.

"So you're scared of the guns?" Tommy nodded and buried his head again. My heart broke for the little boy and I wanted to do something to help him, but I didn't know what. Suddenly, laying on the floor beneath his bed, an idea came to me and I smiled.

"Hey, you know who I am?" Tommy looked at me with a quizzical expression. "I'm Batman, right?" He nodded and wiped the tears out of his eyes. "So you know what Batman has, don't you?"

Tommy sniffled and shook his head. Smiling again, I continued. "Batman has a magical cape. It's what protects me from things like guns and bad guys when I go out and fight crime." Tommy's eyes got wide as he tried to look behind me. "It's magical so you can't see it, but trust me….it's there." He sniffled again and I saw him swallow hard.

"I have an idea. Do you want to hear it?" Tommy nodded and looked at me with wide eyes. "The guy that gave me the cape told me that I could give it to someone else if I wanted to and I want to give it to you. It will protect you from the bad guys and the guns like it's protected me all of these years. Would you like that?"

I didn't think it was possible but Tommy's eyes grew wider as he nodded. "Okay, but you have to come out from under the bed to get it. Can you do that?" Tommy nodded again and followed me as I wiggled out from under the bed. Once we were both standing up, I kneeled down and pretended to untie my cape. With a flourish, I put it around him and tied it around his neck. "Now….you Thomas Orr are the proud owner of Batman's magical cape. It will protect you so you don't have to be scared anymore."

I saw the second Tommy believed what I told him because his whole demeanor changed and he stood a little taller. He pretended to smooth the sides of the cape around him and then turned to smile at me. Throwing his arms around my neck, he hugged me tight. "Thank you, Batman. I won't yuse it or get it dirty."

Hugging Tommy back, I kissed his head and said, "I know you won't, buddy. You want to go show your mommy your new cape?" Tommy pulled back and nodded his head, but he didn't have to go far. When we turned around we saw Stephanie standing in the doorway with tears in her eyes.

"MOMMY! Batman gives me magic cape. I no scared any more." Tommy twirled as he showed Stephanie the invisible cape I'd given him.

"I see that baby. I'm glad you're not scared any more." Stephanie pulled him into her arms and looked at me over his shoulder.

Mouthing 'Thank you' to me, Stephanie held her son and looked at me with love pouring out of her eyes. I hoped my gaze echoed hers and she saw exactly how I felt about her and Tommy.

Possessiveness and protectiveness surged through me as I looked at the two most important people in my life. They, together with my daughter, were my future and I was damn sure going to make sure nothing hurt either one of them.

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A/N - Okay...need your input. Smut or no smut. Ranger's going to spend the night, the question is do they just sleep together or do they SLEEP together? You all tell me what you want to read and that's what I'll write. :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **Not mine and I'm not making any money.

Sorry this took so long. I wrote three versions of this chapter. The first disappeared when my computer crashed. The second was garbage and I tossed it before even really finishing it. What you have here is the third attempt at this chapter. I decided it was good enough and put it out here. I hope you enjoy.

I was blown away by the response to the last chapter. Thank you ALL for your amazing reviews. I haven't had the chance to respond to them and I'm not going to say that I will later...just know that they mean the world to me and I cherish each one of them.

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**Chapter 16**

**SPOV**

There were few moments in my life that I'll always remember. Jumping off the roof when I was six, to see if I could fly was one of those moments because it was something I always wanted to do. Of course I crashed and burned and broke my arm, but for a split second my dream came true and I flew and I will always remember that feeling.

Another moment was the day Tommy was born. I can't describe to you the feeling of hearing his first little cry and the feeling of complete and utter devotion that consumed me the second the doctor laid him in my arms. That was a feeling that I will always remember too.

That night, standing in the doorway of Tommy's bedroom watching him and Ranger together was another moment that I'd never soon forget. Before that, I thought my life was pretty complete. Sure, I didn't have a husband, but I had Tommy and I thought that he was all I needed. But I was wrong. My heart nearly exploded in my chest hearing the words Ranger spoke and seeing the love pouring out of Tommy's eyes for him.

Even though we'd only known Ranger a short time, I knew at that moment that my life wouldn't be complete without him in it and neither would Tommy's. Seeing my two guys together, I saw my family. They were my future.

Later that night, Tommy begged Ranger to read him his bedtime story so the three of us crowded on Tommy's bed and I listened as Ranger read Green Eggs and Ham. Tommy fell asleep about half-way through, but Ranger continued to read. When he was finished, I kissed Tommy and crawled out of his bed. Ranger even bent and gave my little guy a kiss on his head before following me out of his room.

Downstairs, Ranger took a seat on the couch while I poured us each a glass of wine. It was my way of unwinding after a long day and figured Ranger could use one too. Handing him the half-full glass, I sat beside him on the sofa. Resting my head back on the cushion, I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Deep thoughts, Babe?" I opened my eyes to see Ranger smiling at me. He was such a gorgeous man and my heart skipped a beat seeing his unmasked expression.

"Thank you for what you did for Tommy tonight. He's been having such horrible nightmares and I'm hoping your cape gave him the comfort to sleep better." I couldn't stop my hand from reaching out and touching Ranger's face as I spoke but he didn't look like he minded.

"You don't have to thank me, Babe. I was happy to do it. I hope it works for him. I hate thinking that he's scared." My heart melted at Ranger's words.

We were quiet for several minutes and then Ranger broke the silence with a question. "Has Dickie ever threatened you with a gun before Babe?"

Ranger's question knocked me for a loop because I hadn't expected it. "No. He's smacked me around and given me some bruises, but he's never threatened to kill me. I wouldn't let him do that to me."

Letting out a sigh, Ranger scooted closer and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I was just making sure. When Tommy mentioned seeing that, I wanted to run to DC and kill the son of a bitch. I want to kill him anyway, but thinking that he'd threatened you like that made me really want to make him suffer."

I had to smile at that thought. Ranger making Dickie suffer was something that I'd love to see but I knew that I would probably never get to.

Ranger was quiet for a few minutes before turning to me and brushing some hair away from my face. "Can I ask a question?" I couldn't help but tense a little but Ranger's calming touch had me relaxing back into him.

"Sure, you can ask me anything." My voice wasn't as firm as I wanted it to be, but at least it didn't stutter or break.

"Les told me about your marriage to the Dick and I'm just curious how you ended up pregnant with Tommy. From what Les said, you and Dickie ended the physical part of your relationship years before. I don't mean to pry so if you don't want to talk about it, then just tell me to shut up." Of all the questions my brain came up with in those few seconds, that wasn't an option. Dickie's words from earlier came back to me and I couldn't suppress the shudder.

"Well, I used to think that it was a wonderful mistake. Les was gone on a mission, Dickie was out at an office function and I was here by myself. I drank a bottle of wine and was extremely lonely that night. I don't really remember anything, but Dickie told me that I came onto him and we had sex in the living room. A few weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. I used to think it was just meant to be, but…." I shrugged and chewed on my lower lip.

Ranger's long thumb pulled my lip from between my teeth and then brushed it gently. "But what, Babe?"

"Something Dickie said to me a few days ago has me questioning the events surrounding Tommy's conception." When I didn't elaborate, Ranger turned my head so I could look into his questioning gaze.

Sighing, I continued talking. "The day that I toured the women's shelter in Trenton, Dickie approached me before I left. He requested that I find him when I got back to the mansion and then suggested that we make Tommy a brother or sister. I thought he was joking and there's no way that I would willingly sleep with him again so I made some comment and then he told me that if I didn't come to him willingly then he'd just have to do what he did to get Tommy. He was adamant that we'd have another child and then he left. I didn't allow myself time to think about what he said but now, remembering….." I couldn't help the tears from filling my eyes. "What did he mean? I always questioned the conception because I was on birth control. I took it religiously and even drunk I would have demanded Dickie wear a condom. I don't want the diseases he has. I don't understand what he meant."

Ranger pulled me closer to him and let out a long sigh. "I don't know what he meant, but we'll find out. Do you think he drugged you that night?"

I tried to remember what happened, but I got nothing. "I don't know. I've never blacked out from drinking a bottle of wine and the next day was the worst hangover I'd ever had. I woke up next to a naked Dickie so I assumed a whole bunch of things. You're saying that he could have drugged me and raped me? But how did he know I would get pregnant? And I was on birth control." I started to panic and was only calmed by Ranger's soothing voice.

"Unless he tells us what happened, there's no way to know for sure. From what you're saying, I would guess that he did drug you with something. How he knew where you were in your cycle is beyond me and how he got you pregnant is something else too. Have you ever had Tommy's DNA tested?"

Shaking my head, I looked up at Ranger. "No, there was no need. The doctor told me the date of conception and I knew he had to be Dickie's."

"Could the doctor have lied?" Ranger asked the question and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"The only other guy I was with at the time was Les and Tommy looks nothing like him." My voice rose a few octaves as panic filled me again.

Ranger pulled me close and we were quiet for several minutes until his voice broke through the silence. "Would you like to do a DNA test on Tommy and Dickie? It would tell you for sure one way or the other."

Fear filled me again. "I want to yes, but the last thing I need is the press getting wind of it and then turning it into a scandal. I can't create a problem like that for Dickie or he'll destroy my family. Maybe I can find an independent lab and have the tests run under an alias….or maybe…."

Ranger halted my rambling with a finger to the lips. "Do you have anything here that would have Dickie's DNA on it? A toothbrush a hairbrush?"

I nodded my head thinking where those things would be. "Okay, how about this. Tomorrow, I'll come back with Bobby, he's my company's medic, and he'll collect a sample from Tommy and take whatever you've got of Dickie's. He can call in a favor at the lab and we'll run the tests under an alias like you suggested. It will be completely confidential and the press will NEVER know anything like this is going on."

Thinking about Ranger's suggestion, I began to relax. I was the perfect way to find out the information and keep my family safe. There was only one thing wrong with what he said but I didn't know how to broach that subject. He said he would come back the next day, but i didn't want him to leave.

I really don't know if Ranger could read my mind or if he just read my body language, but the next words out of his mouth surprised me. "Or I can just call Bobby over tomorrow after we get up. It's up to you, Babe."

Getting up slowly from the couch, I straddled his waist and took his face between my two hands. He was probably the most attractive man I'd ever seen and sometimes his beauty took my breath away.

Finding my words, I smiled at him. "If you're offering your medic then I would be forever grateful to let him do that. I think that's the safest way to find out the truth."

Ranger's hands rested on my hips and tightened against me briefly. It was his way of encouraging me to tell him what he really wanted to know.

Looking deep into his eyes, I smiled, bent to give him a gentle kiss and whispered against his lips. "Stay with me. I really don't want to be alone after talking about what Dickie's done. What if he came back tonight? I mean…if you don't mind staying here. Maybe you have somewhere else you need to be."

I hated that I sounded so clingy and scared, but Dickie's threat rang through my head and the last thing I wanted was to be left alone in the big house. TJ and Trevor would protect me, but they wouldn't know to keep Dickie away from me.

Ranger gave me a small smile and brushed my hair away from my face. My hands rested on his muscled chest and I could feel his heartbeat pounding under my palm. "There's nowhere else I need or want to be. I'm right where I belong."

I swear my heart was beating out of my chest and was afraid Ranger could hear it. As much as I wanted to jump his bones right there on my living room sofa, I didn't want our first time together to be cheap and fast. I wanted to show him exactly how I felt about him and I needed a bed and time to do just that.

After giving Ranger a tender kiss, I slid off his lap and got comfortable beside him again. Tucking my feet under me, I reached for my wine glass and took a few sips before speaking again. "You know all about me Ranger, but I don't know anything about you. Tell me something about yourself."

I felt Ranger stiffen and was afraid I'd overstepped some invisible line with him. Remembering that Les told me once how private Ranger was, I immediately regretted my prodding and began to back pedal. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

Ranger sighed and kissed the top of my head. "No, you're right. It's just hard for me to talk about myself. The Army taught me that giving out information like that can get you killed. I'm a private man, Babe, but I want to share my life with you. You're probably the only person on the planet that I **want **to talk to. This is new to me, so I need you to be patient."

I could hear the fear in Ranger's voice and knew how difficult opening himself up would be so I turned my head and looked up into his eyes. "I'll be patient and will wait for however long you need me to."

Bending his head, Ranger kissed my nose and positioned us better on the couch. He threw his leg over me and settled into the arm. Pulling me in between his legs, he wrapped his arms around me and let out a long sigh. "I'm the youngest of five kids and the only boy in the family. My sisters treated me like their living doll when I was little so I grew up resenting them. My mom and dad live in Newark only about five blocks from this house, actually. All of my sisters live in the general area and are each happily married with numerous children. You know Lester is my cousin and he and I are more like brothers. He's followed me into all sorts of things."

Ranger paused and I could feel him warring with himself over what to tell me. "Nothing you say will make me feel any different about you but I don't want you to tell me things if you don't want to."

"I want to tell you everything, but there are things that I **can****'****t** talk about. Classified missions are off-limits. There are things in my past that I'm not proud of, but they made me who I am so I don't regret those decisions. I wasn't the best kid growing up. I did just about anything to rebel against my parents. Drinking, drugs…you name it, I did it. I joined a gang when I was fifteen. At sixteen, I got arrested for stealing a car. I spent fifteen months in a juvenile detention unit. Les tried to follow me inside, but I told him I would kick his ass if he did." I laughed thinking about how loyal Les truly was. I saw that loyalty from the very beginning and Ranger's story only cemented what I already knew.

Ranger began massaging my shoulders as he continued talking. "When I got out of the big house, my parent's sent me to Miami to live with my grandmother. She whipped my ass into shape and set me on the path that changed my life. I never knew my grandfather. He was in the Army and died in the second World War. I used to stare at his medals and one day, my grandma caught me and told me his story. I was fascinated and knew, then, that I wanted to follow in his footsteps. So, at eighteen, I joined the Army. I thought my parent's were going to kill my grandma for encouraging me, but they eventually forgave her and now she actually lives with them at their house."

"She sounds like an amazing woman." I felt Ranger smiled against my head and his hands moved down and massaged my upper arms. I was so relaxed and closed my eyes as Ranger continued talking.

"She is an amazing woman. You kind of remind me of her. Willing to do anything for her family no matter the emotional cost to her. She was the one who helped me decide on what to do with Julie." I tensed slightly because I didn't want to let on that I knew who Julie was. I didn't want to get Les in trouble for telling me.

Ranger chuckled and moved his massaging hands down to my forearms and continued their torture. "It's okay. Les told me that he told you about Julie. It's okay. I'm keeping her safe by distancing myself from her. If one of the people from my past ever heard about her, she would be used against me and I could never live with myself if that happened." Ranger paused and I snuggled in closer. I knew him talking about his past was difficult. "I never loved Rachel, she was a one night stand that turned into a one year marriage. She met Ron and when she asked for my blessing for him to adopt Julie, I was pissed. I fought it at first but then the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The day I signed the papers, I stayed drunk. My grandma had to come collect me from a bar in Miami….talk about embarrassing."

I couldn't hold in my chuckle. The image of a little old woman pulling Ranger out of a seedy bar by his ear flashed in my mind and I lost it. I felt Ranger chuckling behind me and his voice held that tone of laughter when he next spoke. "She didn't pull me out by my ear, but it was close. She yelled at me in Spanish all the way home and then proceeded to chew me out at her house. But something she said that day always stuck with me. She said, 'Sometimes the wrong choice will bring you to the right place.' Something about that thought gave me peace and years later, I understood what she meant. I might have been wrong to give Julie up, but she's happy and I'm exactly where I want to be in my life."

We both fell quiet thinking about that statement. I realized the same went for me. My decision to stick with Dickie all these years might have been the wrong choice to make, but it led me to the perfect spot. It led me right into the arms of that amazing man.

Ranger must have had supersonic ESP because I knew I didn't speak my thoughts out loud, yet he still heard everything clear as day. His voice was husky and whisper soft right beside my ear. "I like you in my arms too, Babe, and I'm never going to let you go."

The sheer emotion in his voice made my stomach turn to mush and the fire that his hands had started erupted in my veins and pooled at the place between my legs. I wanted Ranger entirely too much and it kind of scared me.

His hands continued to massage my skin and I think I moaned because Ranger chuckled and kissed my head again. "As much as I would love to make you moan more, I think you need to go to bed. Tommy will, no doubt, be up early and I've got a surprise for you two so it will be a full day."

Turning in his lap, I smiled at Ranger and narrowed my eyes. "What kind of surprise?"

Smiling back, Ranger answered my question. "Not going to tell. Why don't you head upstairs and climb into bed, I'll run out and talk to the guys about tomorrow and then I'll make myself comfortable down here for the night."

My face fell when I thought about Ranger sleeping downstairs. "If you don't want to sleep with me, I have three other guests rooms upstairs. Take your pick. You'll be more comfortable."

I made a move to stand up from Ranger's lap, but he pulled me back down and cupped my face. "I would love nothing more than to sleep with you, Babe, but I think we should wait for that. Every relationship that I've had in the past started with sex and ended badly. I want more with you. I'm not willing to risk what we already have growing between us."

As much as I hated to admit it, I had to agree with him. My hormones cursed as I kissed him one last time and stood up off his lap. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I turned back to look at him. "You know…we're both adults and we are capable of sharing the same bed. I'll be waiting if you decide you want to join me. I promise I won't bite."

Ranger gave me a killer smile and strode up to me in three quick steps. "If you're sure, then I'll be up shortly. My arms already feel empty and I'd love to hold you all night."

His lips crashed down onto mine after that and he kissed me with every ounce of love and devotion he felt. I could feel everything in that kiss and needed more, but all too soon he pulled away leaving me breathless and glassy-eyed. "I'll be up in a few minutes."

With that, Ranger disappeared outside and I stood, dazed, at the bottom of the stairs.

I have no idea how long I stood there, but eventually I shook the x-rated thoughts out of my head and made my way upstairs to my room, grumbling the entire way.

Ranger still wasn't back by the time I finished my nightly routine, but I was tired and didn't think I could wait for him. I left the light on in my room so he'd know which one it was and crawled into bed. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow but I vaguely remember feeling Ranger's hard body sliding in behind me and his husky voice telling me goodnight. That was the best night of sleep that I'd ever gotten.

I woke the next morning squished between two hot bodies. Ranger was spooned behind me with his arm draped around my waist. I could feel his morning erection pressed into my ass and I almost pressed back against him, but the little giggle from the body in front of me stopped me.

Instead of rolling over and taking from Ranger exactly what I needed, I peaked open my eye and saw two baby blues sparkling back at me. "Mommy, Batman in bed with you."

Tommy's idea of a whisper is more like his normal tone with one or two words slightly quieter and I knew even before feeling Ranger chuckle from behind me that he was awake. "I take it he's not used to seeing anyone in bed with you, Babe." Ranger's warm voice washed over me and made me shiver as his breath caressed my exposed neck.

Turning my head, I gave Ranger a smile and then about melted when he leaned in and gave me a tender kiss. "Good morning, Babe." He looked over me at Tommy who was making a yuck face at us. "Good morning, Robin. You ready for an adventure today?"

Tommy's face lit up instantly as he nodded his head. "You take me on aventure?"

Laughing, Ranger reached over me and started tickling Tommy. "I take you on an adventure, little man."

Ranger tickled my squirming son who was laughing hysterically. Then, all of a sudden, Tommy stopped laughing and stood up on the bed. "STOP! I has go bathroom."

With a thud, he jumped off the bed and took off running towards his bathroom. Ranger continued laughing and I couldn't help smile at him. "So what's the plan today?"

Rolling over, Ranger checked his watch and then turned back to me. "Bobby will be here in about an hour to collect the samples and then you, me and Tommy are going to the zoo for the afternoon."

Worry began to creep into my bones. "Are you sure that's safe? I mean with everything going on?"

Smiling, Ranger brushed some stray curls away from my face before leaning down and kissing me senseless. "Perfectly safe. I have a team watching our backs and of course you'll have the agents with us. It also helps that the zoo is officially closed today. I called in a favor and got us a personal tour."

I was shocked speechless. No one had ever done something so amazing for me or for Tommy in either of our lives. Dickie never wanted to go anywhere with us and always said he was too busy to join Tommy and I on outings. I got used to taking him by myself but always wished I had someone walking beside me. Someone who thought Tommy and I were special enough to waste time and money on. I had almost given up finding that person.

The state of shock must have shown all over my face because Ranger just smiled and shook his head. "You and Tommy **are** special, Babe, and I intend to prove that to you both."

Kissing me once more, Ranger pulled away and stood up off the bed. "Now, you go hop in the shower and get ready while I feed Tommy. We'll leave after Bobby gets done with everything."

Sighing I rolled out of bed and thought to myself. "Sweet, caring, incredibly sexy AND cooks! How did I get so lucky?"

Ranger's booming laughter made me jump and I blushed realizing I spoke out loud. Still laughing, Ranger pulled me into his body and kissed the top of my head. "I ask myself the same question, Babe. Now go get yourself ready and I'll take care of the rest."

Giving me one last kiss and a swat on the butt, Ranger walked out of my bedroom and I headed toward my bathroom. If he was going to watch Tommy while I got ready, I was going to take full advantage of it. It wasn't every day that I got uninterrupted time in my bathroom.

A little over an hour later, I emerged from my room clean and fully dressed. I'd taken an extra long shower and made sure everything was shaved to perfection and then spent extra time getting my hair looking perfect. I knew we'd be outside most of the day, but I still wanted to look good.

I chose a tight-fitting pair of jeans and a blue wrap top. The color complimented my eyes and fit me perfectly so I knew I looked good. I slipped into comfortable pair of boots and was ready to go.

Walking into the kitchen, I saw Ranger holding Tommy on his lap while another man squatted in front of him with a cotton swab. "Okay, little man. I'm going to stick this in your mouth and rub it along your cheek. Okay?"

Tommy nodded and opened his mouth wide for the man. When he was done, Tommy snapped his mouth shut and turned to look at me. "Mommy, Batman make me pantakes and Bobby taked my deena."

Chuckling, I walked toward the group and smiled at Bobby. "You mean DNA, baby. Did you get enough to eat?" Looking at his plate, I saw that he had almost a whole pancake left.

"Babe, he already ate two whole pancakes and insisted on another. I think if he eats any more, he'll burst." Tommy smiled and hopped off Ranger's lap. Ranger immediately stood up and went back to the stove. "How many would you like, Babe?"

"Just one is enough for me and I can finish Tommy's." Ranger nodded and got busy and I turned to Bobby. "I don't think we've properly met. I'm Stephanie Orr." Holding out my hand, the young medic smiled and shook it.

"Robert Brown, but you can call me Bobby. You've got quite a kid there." He motioned to Tommy who was standing beside Ranger on a chair helping him cook the pancakes.

"Don't I know it. He's the light of my world." Bobby smiled and nodded his head.

"That's evident in how you look at him. I've collected his sample and now all I need is something from your husband. Toothbrush or a hairbrush. If you just tell me where that is, I can go collect it." I pulled my attention away from Ranger and Tommy and shook my head.

"No, you have a seat and relax. I'll run upstairs and grab the hairbrush that Dickie left here. I'll be right back." Bobby nodded as I headed back upstairs.

A few minutes later, I had what Bobby needed and handed off both a toothbrush and a hairbrush. I wanted this whole mess taken care of so I wanted him to have more than he actually needed. "There ya go. How long with this take?"

After putting the pilfered items in a collection bag, Bobby turned back to me and smiled. "Well, I called in a favor at the lab and as soon as I get these things over there, we can get busy analyzing them. If all goes well, you should have an answer by the end of the day."

My eyes bugged out. "Th…that soon?"

Bobby nodded and grabbed his kit. "That soon. I'm going to head out and get busy. You guys have a good day at the zoo." Bobby began to walk out of the kitchen but stopped and turned back to me. "Oh, Les asked me to tell you to not do anything that he wouldn't do and said to remember Washington." Bobby chuckled and then left me standing there with a blush covering my entire body.

Ranger stepped up behind me and I was very aware of his proximity. His breath was warm on my ear as he bent to whisper, "Do I want to know what happened in Washington?"

The blush intensified and I shook my head. "Nothing HAPPENED. Les told me a story once about him and a girl at the zoo in Seattle. Apparently the monkeys approved their performance because they got loud applause after they…." I trailed off because I didn't really want to say the words and I knew Ranger understood because he was chuckling lightly behind me.

"So is he suggesting that you and I try it today?" Ranger's voice was husky and I about came in the middle of my kitchen. As it was, my nipples were hard and straining against my shirt.

I couldn't answer his question because the answer probably was yes. Knowing Les, that was exactly what he was implying but there was no way I could do that. I wasn't as free as he was plus I'd have a three-year old tagging along.

Ranger's voice was husky again as he leaned in close and kissed the shell of my ear. "I don't need an audience, Babe. Just you and me. Bed is optional too."

The sudden loss of Ranger stepping away had me swaying on my feet. My panties were beyond ruined and I was so in need of some attention that I thought I might burst.

After getting myself back under control, I turned around and found Ranger smiling at the table. The smug look on his face was telling and I knew he was enjoying torturing me. Narrowing my eyes, I joined him at the table and took a big bite of the pancake he'd cooked for me.

Slowly moving the fork out of my mouth, I let loose a long, deep moan and kept my eyes locked onto Ranger's. With the fork out of my mouth, I slowly stuck my tongue out and licked off the remainder of syrup stuck to my lips and moaned again. Ranger's eyes darkened to almost black and I caught the subtle adjustment in his chair.

Picking up another bite with my fork, I leaned over and licked the side of the food before whispering to Ranger. "Two can play this game big boy. You're in for one hell of a day."

Sticking the bite into my mouth, I caught Ranger's mumbled, "Dios" and smiled against the utensil. Playing with Ranger would probably get me burned, but I had a feeling that it would so be worth it.

* * *

A/N - I know most of you wanted smut, but Ranger talked me out of it. He's quite the sappy man in this story. Anyway...smut will happen! I promise! The next chapter we learn the truth about Tommy...complete with a Dickie confrontation. :)


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